Decentralized Cooperative Economy (DCE): Kibbutz-Inspired Community on Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Itamar Ben-Ari

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

120000

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

7

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

DCE: A Cardano-based platform enabling kibbutz-like digital communities to pool resources, make democratic decisions, and share profits equitably, fostering collaboration.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Maintaining an open-source project requires significant ongoing effort in terms of community support, regular updates, and documentation. Given our current resources, we want to focus on building a robust solution and ensuring its long-term sustainability before considering open-sourcing any parts of the project

[METADATA] Horizons

DAO

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

The Decentralized Cooperative Economy (DCE) is an innovative platform concept built on Cardano, designed to function as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that implements cooperative economic models inspired by the kibbutz system. This unique approach combines the decentralized, autonomous nature of DAOs with the collective, community-focused principles of kibbutzim.

A kibbutz is a distinctive type of settlement in Israel, traditionally based on collective community and agrarian lifestyle. The first kibbutz, Degania Aleph, was founded in 1910, and today there are over 270 kibbutzim in Israel. Our solution adapts this successful model to the digital age, creating a DAO that addresses the following key aspects:

1. Shared Resource Pool: Mirroring the kibbutz's collective ownership and DAO treasury management, members will contribute tokens, services, and assets to a communal pool, managed through smart contracts. This reflects the kibbutz principle where everything is shared and members work as part of a collective, while leveraging the transparent and programmable nature of DAO treasuries.
2. Democratic Governance System: Reflecting both the kibbutz's collective decision-making and DAO governance structures, we'll design a voting mechanism where each member has one vote. This ensures that, like in a kibbutz and typical DAOs, all members have an equal say in community decisions. Smart contracts will automatically execute decisions made by the community.
3. Labor Contribution and Profit Sharing: Inspired by the kibbutz's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" principle, our DAO model will allow members to contribute skills and time, with benefits distributed based on community-agreed rules encoded in smart contracts. This mimics how kibbutz members traditionally had different jobs within the community, all contributing to the collective good, while utilizing the automated and transparent reward systems common in DAOs.
4. Sustainable and Ethical Projects: Like kibbutzim that have diversified beyond agriculture, the DAO will support a variety of community-driven projects aligned with environmental and social ethics. Members can propose and vote on projects, with execution and fund allocation managed autonomously through smart contracts.
5. Community Token: We'll design a native Cardano token representing membership and governance rights in the DAO, facilitating internal exchanges similar to how kibbutzim manage their internal economies. This digital token will represent the shared resources and labor of the community, as well as voting power in DAO decisions.
6. Transparency and Trust: By leveraging Cardano's blockchain, all DAO transactions, voting results, and decisions will be recorded transparently, ensuring the accountability and trust that are cornerstones of both kibbutz life and successful DAOs. This brings the openness of kibbutz living into the digital age, enhanced by the immutable and transparent nature of blockchain technology.

Our solution is unique in its adaptation of the time-tested kibbutz model to blockchain technology in the form of a DAO. It benefits intentional living groups, cooperatives, and local governments seeking alternative economic models with decentralized governance. This project is crucial for Cardano as it showcases the blockchain's capability to support complex social and economic structures rooted in real-world successful models, while demonstrating advanced DAO functionalities.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

The DCE project, inspired by the kibbutz model, will have a significant positive impact on the Cardano ecosystem:

1. Increased Adoption: By providing a practical use case for cooperative economics based on the globally recognized kibbutz model, DCE will attract new users to Cardano, including intentional communities, cooperatives, and local governments interested in alternative economic model
2. Showcasing Cardano's Versatility: DCE will demonstrate Cardano's ability to support complex social and economic structures, potentially inspiring other innovative projects that bridge traditional community models with blockchain technolog
3. Community Engagement: The project will foster a new sub-community within Cardano, focused on sustainable and ethical economic practices, drawing on the success and appeal of the kibbutz mode
4. Cross-Cultural Appeal: The kibbutz-inspired model has global recognition, potentially attracting interest from diverse communities worldwide to the Cardano ecosyste
5. Knowledge Creation: By adapting the kibbutz model to blockchain, we'll create valuable insights into how traditional cooperative systems can be modernized using crypto technolog
6. DAO Innovation: By combining kibbutz principles with DAO structures, DCE will contribute to the evolution of DAOs, potentially inspiring new governance models in the Cardano ecosyste

1. Smart Contract Development: The complex governance and economic models required for DCE will drive the development of advanced smart contracts on Cardano, benefiting the entire ecosyste

To measure impact, we will track:

• Number of communities interested in implementing the DCE model
• Total users engaged in our workshops and design feedback sessions
• Diversity of project ideas generated through our platform design
• Academic and media interest in the DCE concept

We will share our outputs through:

• Regular community updates on Cardano forums
• Open-source documentation of our design process
• Whitepapers detailing our economic model and technical specifications
• Case studies comparing traditional kibbutz operations with our blockchain-based design
• Academic partnerships to study the intersection of traditional cooperative models and blockchain technology

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Our team brings together expertise in blockchain conceptualization, cooperative economics, and direct experience with the kibbutz model:

1. Lead Designer: 5+ years experience in blockchain system architecture
2. Economist: Expert in Cooperative Economics with practical experience in kibbutz management
3. Community Manager: 10+ years experience in facilitating intentional communities, at least 20 years as a kibbutz member
4. UI/UX Designer: Specialized in creating intuitive mockups for blockchain applications

To ensure trust and proper fund management:

• We will implement a multi-signature wallet for project funds
• Regular financial reports will be published on our GitHub
• We'll engage a third-party auditor for financial reviews

To validate our approach:

1. Conduct surveys and workshops with potential user communities and existing kibbutzim
2. Develop detailed mockups and process flows for the DCE model, comparing them with traditional kibbutz operations
3. Create and analyze financial simulations of the proposed economic model, using data from successful kibbutzim as benchmarks
4. Gather and analyze expert feedback from both blockchain professionals and kibbutz managers to iterate on the design

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Milestone 1: Community Engagement and Requirement Gathering

• Outputs: Workshop materials, participant feedback, requirements document
• Acceptance Criteria: At least 3 workshops conducted (including one with a kibbutz community), 10+ potential users engaged, comprehensive requirements document approved by stakeholders

Milestone 2: Economic Model Design

• Outputs: Detailed economic model documentation, financial simulations comparing DCE with traditional kibbutz economies
• Acceptance Criteria: Peer review by at least 2 external economists (including one specializing in kibbutz economics), successful simulations of 3 different community scenarios

Milestone 3: System Architecture and UI/UX Design

• Outputs: System architecture document, UI/UX mockups, process flow diagrams illustrating how traditional kibbutz processes translate to the DCE platform
• Acceptance Criteria: Architecture review by Cardano developers, positive feedback from 80% of test users (including kibbutz members) on UI/UX mockups

Milestone 4: Tokenomics and Governance Model

• Outputs: Tokenomics whitepaper, DAO governance process documentation comparing DCE governance with kibbutz governance structures and existing DAO models
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• Acceptance Criteria: Successful simulation of token distribution and DAO governance scenarios, positive feedback from legal advisor, kibbutz management consultant, and DAO experts

Final Milestone: Comprehensive Project Documentation and Presentation

• Outputs: Final project documentation, presentation materials, project website, comparative analysis of DCE and traditional kibbutz model
• Acceptance Criteria: All documents peer-reviewed, successful presentation to Cardano community and a kibbutz forum, website launched with all project information

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

1. Yaron Levy - Economist. For the past 5 years Yaron has been the Financial Manager of Kibbutz Ortal, in the Golan Heights. Before that Yaron worked for over 15 years in senior positions at the Benleumi Bank, including his last role as the head of the business division at the Kiryat Shmone branch. Yaron will oversee the economic model design, and will contribute from his extensive knowledge on kibbutz economics.
2. Uri Heitner - Community Manager. Uri is a publicist and educator; a senior researcher at the Shamir Institute for Research, a state-funded research and development center, and think tank located in the Golan Heights. Uri is a Kibbutz researcher and expert. As a member of Kibbutz Ortal since the early 80’s, he held countless senior positions, including twice as the Community Manager. He lives and breathes the kibbutz’s way of life, and will bring firsthand kibbutz experience.

We have engaged with both the Cardano developer community and several kibbutz communities to validate our conceptual approach and resource requirements.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Total Budget: 120,000 ADA

Milestone 1: Community Engagement and Requirement Gathering (25,000 ADA)

• Personnel costs: 20,000 ADA
• Workshop materials and facilitation: 3,000 ADA
• Travel and accommodation (including visits to kibbutzim): 2,000 ADA

Milestone 2: Economic Model Design (30,000 ADA)

• Personnel costs: 25,000 ADA
• Simulation software licenses: 3,000 ADA
• External expert review fees (including kibbutz economic specialist): 2,000 ADA

Milestone 3: System Architecture and UI/UX Design (25,000 ADA)

• Personnel costs: 20,000 ADA
• Design software licenses: 2,000 ADA
• User testing incentives (including kibbutz member participants): 3,000 ADA

Milestone 4: Tokenomics and Governance Model (20,000 ADA)

• Personnel costs: 15,000 ADA
• Legal consultation fees: 3,000 ADA
• Governance simulation tools: 2,000 ADA

Final Milestone: Comprehensive Project Documentation and Presentation (20,000 ADA)

• Personnel costs: 15,000 ADA
• Website development: 3,000 ADA
• Presentation materials and event costs (including presentation at a kibbutz forum): 2,000 ADA

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The DCE project, based on the kibbutz model, offers significant value for money to the Cardano ecosystem:

1. Proven Model Adaptation: By adapting the successful kibbutz model, which has over a century of real-world implementation, we reduce the risks associated with untested economic system

1. Innovation in Blockchain Application: DCE introduces a novel use case for Cardano, demonstrating the blockchain's potential to support complex social and economic structures based on established cooperative model

1. Cross-Cultural Appeal: The kibbutz-inspired model has global recognition, potentially attracting interest from diverse communities worldwide to the Cardano ecosyste

1. Comprehensive Design: The budget allows for a thorough design process, ensuring that all aspects of the DCE model are well-thought-out before any development begins, incorporating both blockchain innovation and time-tested kibbutz principle

1. Knowledge Creation: The project will produce extensive documentation on how traditional cooperative models like the kibbutz can be adapted to blockchain technology, serving as a valuable resource for other projects in the Cardano ecosyste

1. Ecosystem Growth: By targeting intentional communities, cooperatives, and those interested in the kibbutz model globally, DCE will bring attention from diverse new user groups to Cardan

1. Reusable Concepts: The economic models, governance structures, and tokenomics designed for DCE can inspire and inform other Cardano projects, providing value beyond this specific applicatio
2. DAO Ecosystem Growth: By implementing advanced DAO functionalities, DCE will contribute to positioning Cardano as a leading platform for complex, community-driven organization
3. Smart Contract Innovation: The development of DCE's governance and economic models will result in innovative smart contract designs that can be repurposed for other Cardano projects, enhancing the overall ecosyste

The milestone-based budget ensures that funds are allocated efficiently across all aspects of the design process. The focus on thorough design and documentation before development begins represents a prudent approach that maximizes the project's potential for success.

Compared to similar blockchain projects, our budget is modest yet sufficient to deliver a comprehensive design for an impactful platform. The potential return on investment in terms of ecosystem growth, innovation, and social impact far outweighs the initial cost, making this project an excellent value proposition for the Cardano community.