Pilot Project Proposal

Living Economy – Wallonie / Ardennes

Re-educating Capital and Re-awakening the Human Being

1 | Vision and Rationale

Modern economic life in Wallonie shows a double distortion:

• wealth and talent migrate outward, leaving local initiative under-capitalized;
• many citizens sink into passive dependence, disconnected from work’s meaning.

The Living Economy Pilot restores circulation—of capital, competence, and consciousness—by founding three interlinked organs:

1. Associative Bank – the moral nerve of capital flow.
2. Guild School – the practical and artistic limb of production.
3. House of Life (“Sas”) – the heart-center where perception, will, and purpose are rekindled.

Together they form a prototype for regional renewal: an economy that learns.

2 | Objectives

3 | Core Components

A. The Associative Bank (Wallonie Régénérative)

• Form: cooperative public-benefit bank under Belgian cooperative law.
• Capitalization target: € 10 million pilot fund (public + private).
• Governance: 1/3 producers, 1/3 consumers, 1/3 cultural sphere.
• Functions:
  • revenue-based loans to crafts, farms, SMEs;
  • dormant-capital “circulation fee” redirected to commons;
  • transparent dashboards (flows → soil, skills, households).
• Expected return: 2–3 % financial + social yield metrics.

B. The Guild School (École des Arts et Métiers Vivants)

• Sites: repurposed municipal or monastery complex.
• Curriculum:
  • mornings → craft and regenerative agriculture;
  • afternoons → artistic + Goethean perception;
  • evenings → life-studies, cooperative economics.
• Output: certified “Mastery Diplomas” recognized by regional employment services.

C. The House of Life (“Sas”)

• Purpose: transition space for those disengaged from work and meaning.
• Method: 3 modules, 3 months each
  1. Awakening Perception – nature observation, biography work.
  2. Re-entering Work – community projects, crafts.
  3. Becoming Citizen of the World – human studies, ethics, destiny.
• Outcome: pathway to Guild School, enterprise creation, or mentoring role.
• Participation stipend: € 1 000 / month + Capability Card credits.

4 | Funding and Governance

Legal entity: non-profit ASBL + cooperative bank; both under one umbrella association Living Economy Wallonie asbl.

Governance bodies:

• Economic Council (producers/consumers/cultural reps).
• Pedagogical College (Guild School + House of Life faculty).
• Cultural Forum (citizens + patrons).

Quarterly Trialogue Assembly integrates feedback among the three.

5 | Implementation Timeline

6 | Expected Impact (3 Years)

• 1 000 participants trained / re-employed.
• 20 enterprises financed, 10 converted to shared ownership.
• 2 regional land trusts holding 200 ha for regenerative use.
• +25 % increase in local circulation of money.
• 1 “Festival of Making” per year attracting 10 000 visitors.
• Measurable improvements in mental health and community cohesion.

7 | Why Wallonie

Wallonie unites natural wealth (soil, forests, heritage buildings) with social stagnation—a perfect laboratory for re-education of capital and re-awakening of will.
The pilot aligns with regional priorities: youth employment, rural revival, ecological transition, and cultural identity.

8 | Conclusion

This pilot invites Wallonie to pioneer a new social contract:

• Capital learns to feel.
• Work becomes culture.
• Education becomes initiation.

If successful, the model can replicate across Europe’s forgotten regions, or even elsewhere in the world, proving that the regeneration of economy begins not with austerity, but with perception, participation, and joy.