Vouchers, Values and Voices of San Fransisco
On my first trip to the U.S. in five years, I found myself nestled in the art studio/warehouse of a cherished friend in San Francisco. As…
On my first trip to the U.S. in five years, I found myself nestled in the art studio/warehouse of a cherished friend in San Francisco. As fate would have it, my laptop cable chose that moment to malfunction. In a surge of panic, I hopped on a bicycle and sped down Cesar Chavez Blvd., aiming for a Best Buy store.
Halfway there, I passed beneath a freeway overhang where a small community of squatters had set up camp. The pungent smell of urine filled Despite the apparent challenges, Ithe air. One man, in particular, stared vacantly into the distance. My experiences working on the streets of Nairobi and Mombasa hadn’t quite prepared me for this scene in San Francisco. While both places have their issues, the sense of isolation here seemed far more pronounced. I found myself yearning for the communal spirit of the strong mamas from Kilifi. I am certain such pillars of community exist in San Francisco too, and perhaps a longer stay might reveal them to me. I sensed a vast reservoir of kind-hearted and intelligent individuals who could usher in change.
With sweat beading on my forehead, I eventually conquered a particularly steep hill and descended to my destination: Best Buy. But before I could procure my much-needed power cable, a wall caught my attention. It was lined with a plethora of physical vouchers and gift cards, from airtime credits to those of Taco Bell and Starbucks.
The vibrant display of these plastic cards made me view Best Buy as a curator of corporate commitments — each card representing a promise of service from the respective business. Yet, an evident absence gnawed at me: Where were the vouchers representing the commitments of the small mom-and-pop stores, or even the individuals who worked in these corporate giants? These corporations could pre-sell their services through vouchers -couldn’t their employees do the same? Could an establishment like Starbucks, for instance, buy its staff’s vouchers as a form of salary advance? Just as they vend gift cards to customers and offer loyalty points, could they not support their own in a similar manner? How would this change power dynamics — would employees and employers become mutual service providers?
I imagined a social-digital infrastructure where we not only showcased the commitments of large corporations but also those of their individual employees and everyone on the planet. What if we could all express and highlight our commitments and the commitments we hold from others and develop a vast interconnected market of curated relative value? Such concepts aren’t alien; they’re central to both large corporations as well as indigenous practices of mutual aid. These communities have long celebrated the act of coming together to express, pool, and exchange commitments in a myriad of ways.
Thankfully, my friend’s visa card came to the rescue, and I secured a replacement cable. The ride back took me again past the homeless communities of San Francisco. I pondered on the services they could potentially offer and the ones they needed. How would such a curation appear? I continue to envisage grassroots economics where anyone can publish commitments (vouchers) and pools (curation markets) on public ledgers (like Celo blockchain) — with which we can mindfully nurture and curate service networks that uphold all life forms on Earth. This is hopefully coming soon (please support the work of Grassroots Economics Foundation in Kenya to co-develop these systems email info@grassecon.org if you want to get involved or make a donation).
Endlessly grateful for the shelter provided, a bicycle for transport, and the embrace of friends here in San Fransisco. I now set my sights on Mississippi to share with kindred spirits who resonate with the strong mamas from my daughter’s homeland before we return there again.