The heart of SEEDS is its people.
Of course there’s all the technology, regenerative economics, decentralized governance, and beautiful visions for what all of this might create. But none of this meets reality until people show up to connect, dream, and build it one interaction at a time.
These two letters, from Paul Kotieno and Alphonz Odhiambo are glimpses into just two of the remarkable people showing up in SEEDS and how they’re putting technology to use to serve their communities.
They are both leaders in their respective communities in Homa Bay, Kenya. They’re working to address poverty through teaching permaculture and fostering community-based projects that provide healthy food, income, and social support.
While working on similar efforts just seven kilometers away from each other, it wasn’t until their mutual friend Viktoria Szilvas (another amazing human of SEEDS) introduced them to each other in February 2021 that they formed a friendship and began exploring local collaboration. At this point, Alphonz was ready to help onboard his new friend; he and Viktoria had been collaborating in SEEDS since 2019!
Below, Paul and Alphonz each share a letter to the SEEDS community to discuss the impact SEEDS has already had in their communities and what their hopes are for the future of their collaboration with SEEDS.
They’re always looking to acquire more Seeds to invite their community members and purchase materials for their regenerative work. If you wish, you can send them a gift of Seeds via the Passport or Light Wallet @ koticompr254 (Paul) & @alphonzseeds (Alphonz), and you can find them on the SEEDS Discord @kotieno & @alphonz.
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Dear Seedizens,
My name is Paul Kotieno of Kenya, and I’m a cofounder of a community based project called Kotieno Community Project, located in Homabay Kotieno Village. Our organization is working towards eradicating poverty, controlling malnutrition, and environmental conservation through farming. I do this passionately with the knowledge acquired from university.
I came across the SEEDS movement in February 2021 through a friend who invited me to the SEEDS Discord plattform, where people from around the world were discussing SEEDS and collaborating. I discovered that SEEDS is a movement of the ‘Regenerative Renaissance’ created by people with a common objective: restore Earth and make the world a better place. The movement has their own currency called ‘Seeds’ that can be used and accepted as a mode of payment by anyone who has the ‘Passport’ or ‘Lightwallet’ mobile apps.
SEEDS has brought a big change to both my organization and even our community at large. I have been able to gather Seeds and gift them to the volunteers who work in the organization’s farms. SEEDS has also contributed to the growth and stability of our organization, since I have acquired some equipment and tools through Seeds. All of this has also helped the SEEDS movement grow in Kenya, as members of our team download and use the Passport.
I would like to support the Movement and make it as popular as I can! My aim is to strengthen the Seeds currency by encouraging most local vendors in my community to accept it as a means of payment.
Welcome everyone and please let’s work in unison towards regeneration through this amazing movement!
THANKS ALL!
Paul
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Dear Seedizens,
My name is Alphonz, and I’m a founding member of a permaculture organisation in Kenya that supports the vulnerable in our community.
Since 2019, I have been inviting my community members to SEEDS and helping them better understand it. A good number of the community members have totally accepted the idea since they do not need to pay or reward others using the local currency but instead prefer sharing their Seeds with other community members as a way of appreciation. Some have even started a Table Banking system in which they use Seeds instead of the local fiat currencies available.
The Seeds currency has helped our community project recognize those who contribute to our permaculture work through management practices like weeding. We don’t have the means to appreciate their support with local fiat currency, but we are able to share the little Seeds we have. Our challenge now is to acquire more Seeds through a campaign so that we can support all community members contributing to our project.
Sincerely,
Alphonz
