France/Mulhouse and surrounding area - Gift vouchers in Cigogne currency support the local economy
La Cigogne currency, launched in 2016, is the result of an initiative by a group of people from Mulhouse. Nine years on, the association that created and distributed La Cigogne, a local means of payment that complements the euro - the third in Alsace - has 250 individual members and almost 75 professionals. For the festive season, the collective is offering the "Mon Noël en Cigognes" operation.
Looking for an original and useful gift? For the festive season, the association La Cigogne de Mulhouse, which in 2016 created and distributed the local currency that complements the euro and is named after the association, is offering its "Mon Noël en Cigognes" operation.to the euro, named after the association, is offering its "Mon Noël en Cigognes" operation. Alexandre Aubertin, the organization's director since March, is delighted: "The idea is to offer gift vouchers in local currency to enable friends and family to spend differently, with local traders, craftsmen and producers.ants, artisans and producers throughout the department, and to ultimately participate in an approach that has many repercussions, both individually and collectively. As the Cigognes traffic circuit is closed, it is already fulfilling a first - and essential - mission to support the local economy.
To better understand the concept, let's recall the values at the heart of the association: preservation of local wealth and support for the local economy, solidarity and fairness, as well as for professionals committed to responsible practices, development of a community of people with a view to creating social links, and the implementation of a new paradigm leading to an understanding of money as a common good.
"After years of work, during which we focused our energies on setting up an effective, simple, efficient and reliable system, rather than on communicating the merits of the concept.the time has now come to extend and democratize our project," explains the director.
A simple, secure application
Indeed, La Cigogne currently offers a network of members throughout the département, as well as the use of the Cigopay application launched in 2021, enabling simple, secure transactions. "What's more, our model is being emulated by a growing number of the 80 associations in France that have already created a local currency. Why do you ask? Because our priority was to build a solid foundation, rather than promote a concept that would prove unsound over time.
A committed act...
With a solid foundation in place, the association has now set itself other objectives for the end of 2027: to develop a large, dense network of professionals throughout France and, at the same time, to increase the number of individual members. And why? "Because the diversity of our offer guarantees a commitment that doesn't rhyme with effort and restriction.
Gone, then, are the days when you had to go to a specific place, at a specific time, to pick up a basket of apples every week. "Today, you can go to a hairdresser, a bookshop, a massage parlour, a restaurant, a patisserie (the list is not exhaustive) and pay with Cigognes. And we hope this is just the beginning - it's the challenge of the work we still have to do."
Aiming for increased flows
If "the mayonnaise takes hold", in the long term, the positive repercussions for the region would be indisputable. "The challenge is not to get rid of the euro. La Cigogne is just a complementary currency," points out Alexandre Aubertin. Rather, one of the stakes is to extend the flows within the closed circuit in which the currency transits, so that it escapes less from its territory, "as is the case today. Which is problematic, of course. We'd regain a financial capacity capable of supporting employment, for example," but not only that. "This will inevitably lead to stronger links through the sharing of common values, which we are convinced will guarantee a more serene future for everyone.
Source: www.lalsace.fr/
