Ruddick, W. O. (2011). “Eco-Pesa: An Evaluation of a Complementary Currency Programme in Kenya’s Informal Settlements.” International Journal of Community Currency Research, 15(A), 1-12.
Ruddick’s first published evaluation of an ecological earn-and-spend community currency, launched in three informal settlements in Kongowea (Kisumu Ndogo, Shauri Yako, Mnazi Mmoja) in partnership with the Green World Campaign. Seventy-five registered businesses (approximately 75 percent women-owned). Documented outcomes: approximately 352 in circulation; 22 percent average increase in participating business income; 20 tonnes of waste collected; three youth-led tree nurseries; total program cost $4,698 over seven months. Residents earned Eco-Pesa through waste-collection events. This is the earliest documented ecological earn-and-spend design in Ruddick’s lineage and Phase 1 of the three-phase evolution that culminated in Commitment Pooling.