COMAL — the Coordinadora de Comercialización Alternativa — is a Honduran fair-trade network of peasant cooperatives, and its "Red COMAL" currency is one of the more functional examples of a complementary local exchange system in Central America. The Udi (Unidad de Intercambio) was designed to circulate within member communities as a medium for barter-equivalent exchange, allowing rural producers to trade goods and labor without dependence on the lempira.
The inclusion of a watermark is notable for a community-issued instrument — an unusual investment in anti-counterfeiting for a scrip currency operating at village scale.
COMAL — the Coordinadora de Comercialización Alternativa — is a Honduran fair-trade network of peasant cooperatives, and its "Red COMAL" currency is one of the more functional examples of a complementary local exchange system in Central America. The Udi (Unidad de Intercambio) was designed to circulate within member communities as a medium for barter-equivalent exchange, allowing rural producers to trade goods and labor without dependence on the lempira.
The inclusion of a watermark is notable for a community-issued instrument — an unusual investment in anti-counterfeiting for a scrip currency operating at village scale.