iCAAFS is at present developed to a minimum viable prototype which includes basic documentation of philosophy and use, prototype badges design, platform use, basic business plan, and testing of technology needed to implement.

We are now rolling out iCAAFS to stakeholders representing the most diverse use cases we can imagine in order to test its limitations and discover new possibilities; as well as co-design the detailed documentation and strategy with the end users. We are also developing and launching an iCAAFS onboarding course in order to streamline the un/learning process for new badge designers and issuers.

We intend to set up an advisory board of indigenous and decolonial leaders to inform the direction and philosophy of the iCAAFS project. Partners, badge issuers, and un/learning providers will be invited to participate, create autonomous working groups, and propose designs/projects for iCAAFS for the long term direction. In order to do this we need to co-create a functional participatory organisational design and governance.

This quarter, we focused on refining the Open Badges Design course, producing onboarding webinar content, and introducing badge templates for the community. A key development in our business model was the decision to sponsor a few case study partners over the next 15-18 months. This idea came from feedback that even small shared fees might be a barrier during the early launch phase. These partners will test the system and provide valuable feedback for case study documentation.

We’ve already signed up Ikhwelo Healers Collective, an indigenous knowledge collective of healers working on advocacy, social justice, climate change, permaculture, and environmental conservation in Southern Africa; who will use the badges for membership and plan to expand into a points-based system to track participation. This partnership is particularly exciting as it aligns with our focus on indigenous knowledge and un/learning. We hope this connection might extend into shared governance and advisory roles.

For CoLab members who have shown interest but haven’t signed up yet, we’re open to collaborations without shared fees at this stage and encourage members to reach out to the iCAAFS team or contact Vida on vida@gaiau.org

https://gaiauniversity.org/en/icaafs-open-badges-decentralized-accreditation-for-regenerative-un-learning/

We invite anyone in the permaculture/regenerative field with projects and offerings in the following areas:

1. Un/learning (including all types of alternative, indigenous, action and experiential un/learning as well as more formal avenues working on climate/land/community)

2. Certifications of quality for products, projects or organisations (i.e. replacing BCorp, Organic, Fairtrade etc.)

3. Monitoring, Impact and Evaluation

We would love to hear from you, get you involved in iCAAFS codesign, and see your project using open badges. We especially invite elders from decolonial-indigenous backgrounds, and un/learning/M&E/certification providers who are willing and able to contribute to the overall project, to reach out about board opportunities.

You can reach the project lead, Siobhan Vida Ashmole at vida@gaiau.org