Damanhur operates a sophisticated alternative economy combining an internal complementary currency (the Credito), cooperative business structures, internal marketplace, and participation in the wider Euro economy — a living demonstration that economic life can be organised around human wellbeing and ecological sustainability rather than profit maximisation.
Damanhur's economic model flows directly from its spiritual and social values — that every person has inherent dignity, that work should contribute to collective flourishing, that wealth should circulate rather than accumulate, and that economic security enables rather than constrains freedom.
No member of Damanhur faces economic insecurity within the community. Housing, food, healthcare, and education are provided collectively. Economic participation — through work contribution — is expected, but no one is left in want due to economic circumstance.
The Credito currency is designed to circulate rapidly rather than accumulate in few hands. Interest-free, inflation-managed, and denominated to encourage use rather than hoarding, it is the practical expression of Damanhur's conviction that money should serve community rather than control it.
All businesses within Damanhur are collectively owned — no individual holds private ownership of productive assets. Workers participate in governance and share in any surplus. The cooperative model is not merely practical but philosophically central to Damanhur's understanding of right relationship.
Damanhur's economic model accounts for ecological costs and benefits that conventional markets ignore — the value of restored land, clean water, community resilience, and happiness are as economically real as market turnover.
The Credito is Damanhur's internal complementary currency — founded in 1979, it is one of Europe's longest-running community currencies and a model for alternative economic systems worldwide.
The Credito circulates exclusively within the Damanhur federation — used to exchange goods and services between community members, pay for community resources, and value contributions that would otherwise be invisible in the market economy.
Unlike the Euro, the Credito carries no interest and is issued in proportion to the community's productive capacity rather than by debt creation. This keeps it intrinsically stable and aligned with real economic activity.
An internal currency allows Damanhur to create a bounded economic space with its own rules — free from the pressures of interest, speculation, and extraction that characterise conventional markets. Within this space, values other than profit can operate as genuine economic forces.
The Credito has been studied by economists, social scientists, and alternative currency designers worldwide. Conferences on complementary currencies frequently reference Damanhur's multi-decade experience as the most sustained example of a functioning community currency in Europe.
Across 40+ years including major Italian economic crises, the Credito has provided Damanhur's members with a stable economic foundation. During the 2008–2012 Italian economic crisis, Damanhur's internal economy provided resilience that many surrounding communities lacked.
The Damanhur internal marketplace is where Credito circulates most actively — a diverse ecosystem of goods, services, skills, and time exchanged between community members.
Community gardens and food forests supply fresh produce through internal distribution
Maintenance, renovation, and home goods circulate through internal exchange
Artworks, ceramics, textiles, and handmade goods valued and sold in Credito
Technical skills, tutoring, healthcare, child care, elder care — all exchangeable
Teaching, coaching, research assistance, and consultation in the community
Community tool libraries operate on a Credito deposit system encouraging sharing
Community herbalists provide treatments and preparations through internal exchange
Musical performances, theatre, and artistic events within the community
Damanhur operates over 20 cooperative businesses that generate income in Euros from the external economy while remaining collectively owned and mission-aligned — the bridge between the internal and external economic worlds.
| Business | Sector | External Revenue | Community Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crea Damanhur Shop | Retail / Arts | Online & in-person sales | Income for artisans; showcases Selfic art |
| Damanhur School of Open Education | Education | Course fees (Euro) | Employment for educators; spreads philosophy |
| Tempio dell'Uomo Tours | Tourism / Culture | Temple entry & guided tours | Major income source; ambassadorial function |
| Organic Farm & CSA | Agriculture | Community Supported Agriculture | Food security; land management jobs |
| Oro Crea Jewellery | Luxury Goods | Italian & international sales | Goldsmithing employment; Selfic tradition |
| Music of the Plants | Technology / Music | Devices & concert licensing | Research income; creative employment |
| Damanhur Guesthouse | Hospitality | Accommodation & meals | Visitor income; community-building |
| Edizioni Damanhur | Publishing | Book sales worldwide | Spread of knowledge; income for writers |
| Spiral Garden Landscaping | Horticulture | External garden design contracts | Employment; permaculture outreach |
While the Credito creates a protected internal economic space, Damanhur actively participates in the broader Italian and international economy — generating Euro income that sustains collective resources and enables investment in community development.
The Damanhur Crea online shop sells Selfic art, jewellery, books, recordings, and Music of the Plants devices internationally — generating significant Euro income while distributing Damanhur's creative output worldwide. The physical shop at Damanhur attracts thousands of visitors annually.
Visitor income from temple tours, courses, retreats, and events represents Damanhur's largest Euro income stream. The unique cultural offering of the Temples of Humankind and the wider community draws visitors from across Europe, the Americas, Japan, and Australia.
Patents (including Music of the Plants US Patent 10,909,956), book royalties, music licensing, and educational content licensing generate income that rewards the creative and research work of community members while introducing Damanhur's innovations to the world.
Collaborative projects with external organisations — universities, NGOs, cultural institutions, and ethical businesses — provide project-based income while extending Damanhur's influence and enriching the community through external relationships.
Damanhur shares its economic model generously — through courses, publications, conference presentations, and as a case study for researchers and alternative economic designers worldwide.
A residential seminar exploring Damanhur's economic system in depth — the theory behind the Credito, cooperative business governance, the relationship between internal and external economics, and practical tools participants can apply in their own communities. 3 days, open to practitioners and researchers.
A practical workshop in the governance and management of worker cooperatives — using Damanhur's 20+ cooperative businesses as case studies. Covers decision-making processes, surplus distribution, conflict resolution, and the relationship between mission and margin in cooperative enterprise.
As a GEN-recognised ecovillage, Damanhur delivers the Economics module of the Ecovillage Design Education curriculum — internationally accredited and relevant to community developers, intentional community founders, and sustainability practitioners worldwide.
Damanhur's economic history and current model are available to academic researchers — with full access to historical economic data, interviews with community economists, and the community's library of internal economic reports spanning four decades. Contact the Economic Council to arrange research access.
New members of Damanhur participate fully in the community's economic life — contributing their skills and receiving the community's collective support in return. This is an economy of reciprocity, not transaction.
Individual members contribute their professional skills to community businesses or departments — their Euro income is pooled with the community and redistributed to support all members' needs. In return, housing, food, healthcare, and community participation are provided collectively.
Families join as economic units — all adult members contributing economically, with children's needs supported by the collective. Family nuclei maintain a degree of economic autonomy while participating in the community's cooperative structures.
Those not yet ready for full membership can enter an associate relationship — spending extended periods at Damanhur, contributing economically on agreed terms, and gradually deepening their integration into the community's economic and social life.
External businesses or individuals with aligned values can enter partnership arrangements with Damanhur's cooperative businesses — collaborating on projects, sharing resources, or co-developing products and services that serve both partners' missions.
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