Dear Reader,
The 'Great cooperation' continues to develop. Christiane Lüpken, who is committed to Society 4.0 and suitable non-hierarchical forms of self-organization in Germany, is also an active member of our Vision Circle. Its task is to establish and maintain cooperation with like- or similarly-minded organizations, projects and initiatives.
Christiane recently published an exciting article about Gradido on the Society 4.0 website, which we would like to share with you.
We hope you enjoy reading it and gain good insights!
Gradido - More than just a complementary currency
There are some very interesting initiatives in area 8 (payment and banking) both in the Netherlands and internationally. Here is an example from Germany.
In 2000, the idea for Gradido was born in the form of a serialized story in 6 episodes, which was distributed to the world by e-mail. The initiative came from Margret Baier and Bernd Hückstädt, the founders and visionaries of the "Gradido Academy for Economic Bionics".
What made the Gradido appealing to me right from the start was the meaning of the name, which directly expresses the character of giving and gratitude: Gradido stands for Gratitude, Dignity and Donation, which already makes clear the essential values on which the Gradido is based. Behind this is a higher goal, namely prosperity, peace and freedom in harmony with nature for all people worldwide.
Gradually, the Gradido research project took shape.
An 'Active Basic Income' is created by contributing up to 50 hours (20 Gradido each = maximum 1,000 GDD) per month to the common good. This "amount" is credited to an online account on a trust basis. Over time, this sum decreases. This cycle of waxing and waning creates a self-regulating system that keeps the amount of gradido in circulation within reasonable limits.
Gradido is free to use. The project, which is now used by over 5,000 people, is financed exclusively on a donation basis. Those who participate are under no obligation. However, the research project has observed that giving and gratitude have positive effects on people's well-being. I would even go so far as to say that the Gradido helps to develop a different mindset, one that contrasts with the prevailing sense of scarcity in connection with "money". Those who receive gradidos are happy to contribute to the common good, and those who give them do so out of gratitude. Terms such as "prices" or "paying" are replaced by "appreciation" and "giving from the heart".
From a legal point of view, the Gradido is not yet a currency, but rather "thank you points" that express appreciation for voluntary commitment, or discount points that are granted to friends from the community.
Until now, the circle of users was spread across the entire German-speaking region, but since 2024 work has been underway to develop options for decentralized use. The so-called "Gradido circles" can be communities or initiatives of all kinds that want to use Gradido internally and manage their accounts independently.
In this respect, the Gradido is interesting for regional initiatives.
Interested initiatives and projects simply register with the Gradido Academy by sending an email to support@gradido.net. There they agree on the name of their Gradido Circle and are given their own space on the Gradido Circles community platform. Now they can manage themselves. Larger communities with several hundred members or more have the option of operating their own Gradido server, which is networked with the other Gradido servers. Gradido support will assist them with this.
(A report by Christiane Lüpken with the kind support of Bernd Hückstädt)
Left:
Original article by Christiane Lüpken
Society 4.0 website
Website of Christiane Lüpken
We would like to thank Christiane Lüpken for this great contribution.
Love greetings
Yours
Margret Baier and Bernd Hückstädt
Gradido founder and developer
PS: Due to the ever-growing importance of Gradido, we are repeating our gratitude campaign on March 25, 2025: In addition to the multiple GradidoTransform for your sponsorship contribution, we will increase all GDT account balances by 25% on March 25, 2025. Sponsor now and benefit from the multiple amount of GDT!