From Survival to Connection
Breaking the Cycle of Dependence with Commitment Pooling
I feel it every day, and I imagine you do too: a sense that we live in a world built to keep us apart. We’ve been given systems, loans, rewards, jobs, and grants that are supposed to lift us up. But instead, they isolate us, leaving us reliant on one-time transactions, always waiting for the next handout, the next project grant, or the next gig to sustain us. The deeper truth is hard to admit—that much of what’s meant to help us actually keeps us from connecting with each other. We’re shown the veil of survival, told we should be grateful for anything that comes our way, and expected to take whatever is given.
But let’s ask ourselves, what if there was another way? What if we didn’t need to depend on loans, handouts, employment, or fundraising to survive? What if instead of surviving alone, we could thrive together? This question has driven us at Grassroots Economics Foundation to rethink everything we know about how resources flow, how communities connect, and how economies sustain themselves.
The Isolation Economy
"The greatest poverty is isolation—when we are cut off from what sustains us." — Paulo Freire
The common approaches we use to fund projects and ourselves—grants, loans, rewards, jobs—come with the weight of independence that doesn’t actually empower us. These systems put us in silos, each organization, each individual working in isolation, focused on the next milestone, the next deliverable, the next approval. And while these systems may offer temporary support, they do not bring us together; they do not make us whole. Instead, they keep us in survival mode, reinforcing a constant scramble for resources that never allows us to practically stay in connection and collaboration in a meaningful way.
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." — Albert Einstein
Myself and many others realize that as long as we depend on these models, we stay isolated. We miss the strength and wisdom that only comes from joining together. And it’s this insight that led us to develop Commitment Pooling—a proto-social protocol where survival is no longer the goal. Instead, we aim for interdependence, mutual benefit, and shared abundance.
Commitment Pooling: An Economy Without Handouts
Imagine if our communities weren’t built around who could secure the most funding but around the strength of our commitments to each other. This is the vision behind Commitment Pooling. Here, each of us brings something to the table, not to be given as a one-off, but as a promise—a commitment to support each other, pooling our resources in a way that honors the gifts each of us has to offer.
"In nature, nothing exists alone." — Rachel Carson
In this system, our contributions are not isolated. They become part of a living network where each commitment feeds into collective pools. This is what Commitment Pooling is about: breaking free from the constraints of survival-based support and creating a regenerative economy where everyone’s contributions are fairly accessible to everyone else. We’re not talking about employment or charity here. We’re talking about a community that shares, exchanges, and grows together without needing to compete or scramble for the next bit of funding.
Stepping into an Interdependent Economy
When we pool our commitments, we move from isolation to connection. My commitment might be to offer training in agroforestry, or cultural immersion experiences, or consultation on ecosystem restoration. Others bring their skills, too: technical support, transportation, sustainable design, ecological stewardship. Each of us places our contributions into a pool, and together we create a wellspring of resources that anyone in the pools can draw from. This isn’t a transaction. It’s a relationship.
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." — Albert Einstein
This approach is inspired by what E.O. Wilson called eusociality—the deep interdependence we see in nature, where communities of organisms thrive because they care for each other, each playing a vital role. Wilson as well as so many of our ancestors showed us that humans, too, are meant for this level of connection. When we care for each other, when we contribute our unique gifts, we create an ecosystem that sustains us all.
Unveiling a New Path Beyond Survival
Stepping into a commitment-based economy means removing the veil of survival that keeps us focused on scarcity. It means seeing clearly that together we are capable of so much more than we could ever accomplish alone. When we break free from a system based on survival and scarcity, we make space for something far greater: trust, interdependence, and connection.
Commitment Pooling does not ask us to abandon the need for resources. Instead, it offers a path where resources flow naturally through mutual commitment, where each person’s contribution is valued, and where survival is no longer the end goal but simply a stepping stone toward shared wellbeing.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in [mutual] service [with] others." — Mahatma Gandhi
So here’s the invitation: what if we stop surviving and start connecting? What if we choose to fairly share what we have—not because we’re forced to, but because we want to build a world where our strengths support each other? Join us on this journey, where your pooled commitments becomes a lifeline for everyone in it. Together, we can lift the veil, see each other clearly, and create an economy grounded not in handouts or isolation, but in connection.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit." — Greek proverb
If you’re ready, read examples of how Grassroots Economics is seeding pools, watch these short simple videos and visit Sarafu.Network to see how we’re doing this together, as one interconnected community.