Money Piles: Finances are Relational

by Matilde Zadig

_Money Piles have come to me through Dominic Barter (sometimes also called Financial Co-responsibility) and Miki Kashtan*. I’ve practiced them regularly in one of my intentional house-shares, with my partner, participated in them during a training weekend, a friend gathering, as well as in teams and working relationships. _
If we’re trying to build a better system, we need to start with ourselves and where we’re at. We need to work on our internal systems and culture in order to prefigure and embody and practice the change we want to see. The more we practice, the more confident and comfortable we can get with doing things differently. That means we can go deeper, be more radical and bold. 
Money Piles aim to contribute towards: awareness of our needs, the needs and humanity of others, making privilege, rank and power conscious and visible and breaking the taboo of money. It builds towards individual and collective healing of trauma related to money and the systemic oppression that current financial systems are based upon. 
I have mostly practiced Money Piles as a way to take collective responsibility for a specific cost/event/work which has already occurred, but it can also be done to plan for how to redistribute money ahead of time. They are best practiced regularly in a group, where after a while it can become the way of “doing” finances (the system/way we do it). 
After practicing it for some time in a group, certain patterns might become clear. Maybe some people/groups are disproportionately unsupported or underinvested in. Some people might need more redistribution than others. Or you might want to make it into an agreed part of the system that you as a group always donate 20% of your funds/income towards solidarity/anti-oppression work, or to keep a pot for “pay it forwards” for people to access your events/work. For example, to people who might not be able to take part in a meditation retreat otherwise.

* Although often not as transparent, participative and collective, the practice of Daña (generosity) or “any relinquishing of ownership to a recipient without expecting anything in return” in the world of Buddhist meditation retreats, is also based on the same deep-rooted belief. That it is possible for resources to flow, to give and receive, if we are in touch with our needs, what “enough” means, and practice giving freely.
For further reading/listening: 
Miki Kashtan “Aliveness & Flow” from Hurry Slowly podcast
Miki Kashtan blog post “Matching Resources to Needs: Learning to Receive through Participating in “Money Piles”
adrienne maree brown “Are You Satisfiable” from Hurry Slowly podcast