📘 Skill Trees for a Post-Monetary Society

How Communities Map Abilities, Not Credentials

1. Introduction

In a post-monetary world, skills are not gatekept, monetized, or ranked by artificial scarcity. Skill Trees are the central tool communities use to visualize, coordinate, and grow human capabilities. They are decentralized, co-created maps that:

• show what a learner can do,

• show what a learner wants to do next,

• connect people to mentors, co-learners, and apprenticeships, and

• allow a community to understand its evolving capacities.

Skill Trees replace:

• degrees

• certificates

• exams

• standardized curricula

• job requirements

Skill Trees reveal ability rather than proving credentials.

2. Structure of a Skill Tree

Each Skill Tree has four layers:

Layer A — Foundations

Basic competencies that enable participation in community life. Examples:

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Self-regulation

• Basic project literacy

• Tools familiarity

Layer B — Core Domains

Broad, non-hierarchical fields of interest:

• Arts & Creative Expression

• Building & Material Skills

• Ecological Stewardship

• Care & Well-being

• Technology & Systems

• Culture & Humanities

• Governance & Facilitation

Layer C — Capabilities

These are discrete abilities within each domain. Examples:

• Carpentry: reading timber grain

• Governance: mediating a two-person conflict

• Ecology: identifying native vs invasive species

• Arts: composing collaborative soundscapes

Capabilities are never ranked “basic/intermediate/advanced”—only described.

Layer D — Projects

Real work done in community:

• fixing a roof

• cultivating a garden bed

• producing a documentary

• designing a composting system

• facilitating a learning circle

Projects = Proof of Learning.
The portfolio records them; the Skill Tree maps them.

3. How Skill Trees Grow

Skill Trees are not fixed—they evolve. Growth happens through three mechanisms:

A. Personal Branching

Learners add new nodes as they develop new abilities.

B. Community Branching

When multiple people converge on similar abilities, the community formally adds them as new branches.

C. Cultural Branching

Entire micro-utopias can share or merge trees, forming regional Skill Forests.

4. Why Skill Trees Prevent Credentialism

• No institution controls the tree

• No hierarchy ranks abilities

• No exams gate access

• No paper qualifications

• No standardized path

Instead: Skills emerge from lived reality.

5. Implementation Guide

1. Start with 6–8 Domains.

2. Have each learner map their existing abilities.

3. Add new nodes whenever a capability appears.

4. Connect learners through overlapping branches.

5. Use portfolios to anchor the Skill Tree in real projects.

6. Review and refine every 6–12 months.

📗 Weekly Learning Circles: Scripts, Prompts & Formats

1. Purpose of Weekly Learning Circles

Learning Circles are the heartbeat of education in micro-utopias. They:

• keep learning social

• ensure emotional grounding

• allow cross-age collaboration

• prevent fragmented or isolated learning paths

• distribute teaching so that everyone becomes a mentor

They are not classes. They are coordination and reflection spaces.

2. Standard Weekly Format (90 minutes)

0–10 min — Arrival + Grounding

Prompt: “What energy are you arriving with today?”

10–25 min — Round of Updates

Each learner shares:

• What they worked on

• What went well

• What they struggled with

• What they want to do next

Prompt: “What felt meaningful this week?”

25–40 min — Skill Tree Check-in

Facilitator asks:

• Any new capabilities to add?

• Any branches shared by multiple learners?

• Any community needs emerging?

40–70 min — Collaboration Planning

Small groups form around:

• shared goals

• shared challenges

• complementary abilities

Prompts:

• “Who is working on something similar?”

• “Who needs help or a partner?”

• “What small project could we start today?”

70–85 min — Reflection + Mentorship Requests

Everyone states:

• what they commit to this week

• what support they want

• what support they can offer

85–90 min — Closing Ritual

Short gratitude or presence moment.

3. Roles

• Facilitator (rotating weekly)

• Timekeeper

• Documenter (updates trees + portfolios)

4. Scripts for Special Circle Types

A. Project Launch Circle

Focus: turning ideas into actionable projects.

Prompts:

• “What problem or need do we see?”

• “What small experiment can we start?”

• “Who wants to join?”

B. Conflict-Resolution Circle

Focus: surfacing tensions affecting collaboration.

Prompts:

• “What is the underlying need?”

• “What agreement would help?”

C. Creativity + Inspiration Circle

Light, exploratory.

Prompts:

• “What inspired you recently?”

• “Show-and-tell something that matters to you.”

5. Rules of Engagement

1. No interruptions

2. No critique unless invited

3. Transparency of needs

4. Collaborative problem-solving

5. Rotating facilitation to avoid authority accumulation

📙 Community Apprenticeships: Structure & Practice

1. Definition

A Community Apprenticeship is a voluntary, project-based learning relationship where:

• A learner joins an experienced community member

• Work is real, not simulated

• Apprentices make meaningful contributions

• Knowledge flows horizontally

Apprenticeships replace internships, jobs, and vocational training.

2. Principles

• No hierarchy

• No wages (post-monetary)

• No gatekeeping

• No fixed duration

• No formal evaluation

The only “contract” is mutual commitment.

3. Stages of a Community Apprenticeship

A. Invitation

Either party can initiate:

“I’d love to learn from you.”
“I could use help; want to apprentice with me?”

B. Orientation (1–2 meetings)

Cover:

• project scope

• expectations

• safety

• rhythm

• handover points

• autonomy level

C. Active Apprenticeship

The apprentice:

• shadows

• participates

• gradually takes initiative

• documents their learning in the Portfolio

The mentor:

• demonstrates

• narrates thinking

• pairs on tasks

• gradually steps back

D. Project Completion

The outcome is always a real project:

• a repaired machine

• a built structure

• a performance

• a community service

• a designed system

• a garden plot

E. Reflection + Branching

They meet to record:

• new capabilities

• new aspirations

• new tree branches

• next steps

4. Types of Apprenticeships

• Craft-based (carpentry, ceramics, fabrication)

• Ecological (farming, foraging, rewilding)

• Social (caregiving, mediation, facilitation)

• Technical (coding, systems design, renewable tech)

• Cultural (music, storytelling, translation)

• Governance (council work, logistics, planning)

5. Safeguards and Anti-Exploitation Measures

• No exclusivity

• No long-term dependency

• Clear boundaries

• Rotating mentors

• Community oversight

• Public reflection circles

• Easy exit at any time

6. How Communities Coordinate Apprenticeships

A simple weekly bulletin:

• “Mentors offering…”

• “Apprentices seeking…”

• “Projects needing hands…”

Self-organizing, zero bureaucracy.

7. How Apprenticeships Prevent Inequality

• No one hoards knowledge

• Mastery disperses naturally

• Skills proliferate

• Status cannot concentrate

• A culture of gift-based learning emerges