Sarafu Network (Grassroots Economics) New

Active
- Red Cross basic income distribution 2020-21 (40,000+ households joined during COVID)
- Network on Celo since 2022/2023; active in 2025 (4,476 users, 251k exchanges by July 2025)
- Current model is vouchers and pools rather than a basic income

Sarafu is a blockchain community-currency network in Kenya run by the Grassroots Economics Foundation. In 2020-21 the Kenya Red Cross and Danish Red Cross used it to distribute Sarafu tokens as a basic income / COVID-19 relief to low-income households. It has since become a network of community vouchers and "commitment pools".

https://sarafu.network
Blockchain

Celo (earlier xDai/Ethereum sidechain)

Social identity

Registration by phone (USSD); Red Cross/community enrolment; later a web of trust through community pools

Social mining

- 2020-21: Red Cross distributed Sarafu tokens to registrants (hybrid of unconditional cash transfer and community inclusion currency)
- Now: users issue vouchers (promises of goods and services) and swap them in commitment pools

Token economics

Community Inclusion Currencies / vouchers; earlier Bancor-style reserves; not dollar-pegged

Governance

Grassroots Economics Foundation plus community-run pools; open source (AGPL)

Verified users
40,000+ households (2020 pilot); 4,476 active users (July 2025)
Key people

Will Ruddick

Locations
Kenya (Kilifi, Mombasa, Nairobi)
Links
Grassroots Economics
2025 Sarafu Network study results
BitKE: Kenya Red Cross launches token-driven basic income (Mar 2021)
GitHub
Notes

- Kenya Red Cross, Danish Red Cross and Grassroots Economics partnership
- 84% of 2025 survey respondents reported positive income effects