A healthy ecosystem is healthy because it arises from right-relations. Imagine an economic system that does the same. That's Oikanomics.

Building on decades of research and reciprocity within the natural science and creative sectors, Oikanomics is a novel approach to recoupling ecological health to economic wealth. While this may seem like a contradiction, it’s because we’re between paradigms.

Oikanomics is an economic paradigm developed by Dr. Rich Blundell grounded in deep principles of ecological intelligence. In the old economic paradigm, profit arises from overly extractive and transactional modes in order to accumulate profit disproportionately in a small number of corporate shareholders. 

By contrast, the Oikanomic paradigm begins in creative, right-relational dynamics (as opposed to transactional) and we take care to maintain these relationships throughout the prosperity chain. In other words, Oika-certified Cultural Creatives who generate cultural value are considered value shareholders and are thus compensated in proportion to the ecological health of the entire Oika ecosystem.

What this looks like in situ depends on the circumstance and discretion of the Cultural Creative. Common manifestations involve profit allocations that are distributed among the Cultural Creative, the ecosystem, and future Oika projects. We are also experimenting with linking economic value to a site-specific biomarker such that value is correlated to ecosystem health.

We are living into transitional times that are forcing change across many of our beleaguered systems. The years ahead will challenge our political, social, energy, communication, ecological, and economic systems. If we can muster some extra civility, there is no reason we can’t see these as exciting and productive times as well.