voc – simon kozak – funding community needs
Simon Kozak on Funding Community Needs
valley of the commons – 9.17.26 – simon kozak – funding community needs
more on simon on bottom of this page
notes/quotes from 68 min video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBWJUw9w48A]:
felix: intro – (7ish there).. simon bought a bunker in prague and turned it into a hackerspace.. looking forward to how to fund co living space here
simon: will be hitting on tokenization and dao space et al.. for last 5 yrs working on OWN.. we are doing a cypherpunk/solarpunk.. exploring how techs can help us create new ways of collab..t.. helping like dream factory with like smart contracts et al.. i’m really technical.. not really financial
smart-contracts/dao/token ness et al.. as still too much ness.. bauwens contracts law .. graeber violence/quantification law.. et al
findings from on the ground ness.. deep dive on why we need tech w/o judgment
3 min – simon: why do we need financing?.. for buying land, property, renovation, infra.. any thing you need.. every community needs diff terms.. alt finances et al
if we do a deep dive.. realize we all have just 2 basic needs.. and if we org around those 2 legit needs.. fin et al (any form of m\a\p) become irrelevant s.. cancerous distractions
5 min – simon: just a note on teh trustless system.. i feel like when we talk about community we are talking about trust.. we can’t trust each other.. so talking about a trustless system may be a little paradoxical.. but i feel like.. trust each other – do the rules need to rely on it?.. trust builds a community.. code can enforce commitments.. my view: if 2 systems do the same job, with anonymous actors .. *prefer the one that needs less trust to function.. of course in blockchain there are some levels of trust.. but much less than usual.. sidenote about why i think the trustless systems are important
*to me.. this is because imagine a turtle ness.. and.. that’s huge.. and that’s exactly what we need tech for.. the unconditional ness of legit trust.. that we can’t seem to do/be (ever since that day.. pearson unconditional law..).. but that tech can.. ie: nonjudgmental expo labeling; tech as it could be
again.. huge huge.. to our findings from on the ground ness deep dive on why we need tech w/o judgment
6 min – simon: so let me intro you into what we (OWN; real world utility for onchain credit) are doing.. we are doing onchain mortgages .. tools to structure loans around real needs and connect borrowers w aligned lenders.. crypto collateral and tokenized real world assets..t
to me.. (warning ness) the deeper issue is that nothing to date (since that day) is about ‘real’ (aka: legit) needs/whatever.. it’s all been about whales in sea world
need: hari rat park law via bruce alexander et al for the dance to dance
7 min – simon: bordel – crypto – a permanent home – funding/collat/repay handled by smart contracts
q&a bit
35 min – simon: multisig shares control of the wallet ness a multisig needs several approvals
any form of m\a\p as too much ness et al
graeber violence/quantification law et al.. 10-day-care-center\ness et al
37 min – simon: ultimate bordel goal is a rent free hackerspace.. where all funds go back into.. on how to get to do things we actually want to do.. t this is all smart contract stuff
huge .. aka: conditions where all are legit free
need spaces of permission with nothing to prove.. gershenfeld something else law.. et al.. baan leave law et al..
need: bachelard oikos law et al.. via ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance
simon: this can work in switzerland but not in … et al
we need a problem deep enough to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. in an ecosystem open enough to set/keep 8b legit free
41 min – simon: on being better to talk about rather than individual cases.. i feel like it’s a very unexplored area.. but for us this is ultimate goal to make this happen..t
we can do that.. we have the means to do that.. so we can’t not.. part\ial ness is killing us.. keeping us from us.. for (blank)’s sake
ie: org around a problem deep enough (aka: org around legit needs) to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough (aka: tech as it could be) to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. and an ecosystem open enough (aka: sans any form of m\a\p) to set/keep 8b legit free
simon: income for the dao because dao wants to increase utility
una on dao ness.. dao ness.. et al.. graeber min\max law et al
42 min – simon: this last thing.. what we’d like to see.. exploration: undercollateralized lending.. something else must support the promise.. esp in communities where there is reputation so more trust.. i would like to explore this .. very experimental space.. if you have some ideas.. i’m happy to talk.. we are still building/exploring what is possible.. so for us it’s an open thing.. OWN: what does your community need. .
to me.. promise ness.. will on commitment pooling ness.. et al.. reputation ness.. et al.. all cancerous distractions to the dance
great question.. to me.. because since we don’t know that.. that’s the center of problem law .. finding those needs/conditions for legit freedom (aka: 2 missing pieces).. and all the rest irrelevant s
q&a
44 min – guy: commons at brussels related bu diff.. could people put their yield in .. then interest goes back to community.. giving to community of free rent.. serving same problem but from diff angle.. still haven’t seen anything doing it
rather.. plenty doing it.. just not seeing it because they are same song so blend into the not lasting ness et al
46 min – felix: bake bread.. interest from that could be our revenue stream.. would need less legal provisions.. t eth rewards to us.. but they stay in eth
this comes up a lot ‘takes a lot of work/time’ ness and it’s a huge red flag to the too much of all the cancerous distractions to all the irrelevant s of the dance
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more on simon via google:
Simon Kozak is a prominent non-profit marketing leader and advocate based in New Zealand, where he serves as the Marketing Manager for Ember Korowai Takitini and the Editor of its digital magazine, Horizon.
Through his work, Kozak heavily champions systems change and reforming how community needs—particularly in mental health, addiction, and social support—are funded and addressed.
to me.. (warning ness) first need global detox to grok legit needs
need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs
Core Philosophies on Funding & Community Needs
- Reforming Underfunded Systems: Kozak argues that community support funding has fallen drastically behind population growth. He strongly advocates for structural reinvestment rather than temporary “patches” to existing frameworks.
to me.. reinvestment (any form of m\a\p) are temp ‘patches’.. aka: perpetuating survival triage
- Elevating Lived Experience: He emphasizes that community services should begin with, and be designed by, people with lived experience of mental distress or addiction.
to me.. more like imagine a turtle.. and why we need tech w/o judgment for a global detox leap
- Equitable and Flexible Access: Kozak uses his platform to spotlight systemic inequities, such as how funding frameworks disadvantage rural communities by relying too strictly on urban, GP-based medical models rather than flexible peer support networks.
to me.. won’t need ‘support’ once we’re all legit free.. to me this is why we need to try life over survival ness
- Professionalizing the NGO Sector: He actively fights the corporate bias that views non-profit community work as “soft” or self-sacrificing. He maintains that addressing food insecurity, housing, and mental health requires high-stakes, deeply professional expertise that must be funded and respected accordingly.
to me.. these are red flags we’ll be perpetuating same song
His presentation (at voc) perfectly bridges the gap between decentralized, community-led funding structures and the real-world operational challenges of NGOs. In that space, his insights on reforming extractive systems take on an entirely practical meaning.
to me.. rather.. sea world
so.. hari rat park law et al
Key Themes of His Talk
- Moving Beyond Extractive Funding: Transitioning away from top-down, bureaucratic grant models toward self-reinforcing economic ecologies that keep value inside the community.
- Systemic Resilience vs. Temporary Fixes: Using his leadership background to outline how social infrastructure (like mental health and community housing) must be funded for permanence, not just short-term pilot cycles.
- Cosmo-Local Resource Distribution: Showing how local, on-the-ground peer support networks can be empowered globally using decentralized governance tools.
findings from on the ground ness deep dive on why we need tech w/o judgment
ie: the dance won’t dance unless/until it’s 1\ all of us 2\ legit free
we need a problem deep enough to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. in an ecosystem open enough to set/keep 8b legit free
ie: org around a problem deep enough (aka: org around legit needs) to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough (aka: tech as it could be) to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. and an ecosystem open enough (aka: sans any form of m\a\p) to set/keep 8b legit free
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be you. 