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/ Wednesday, July 20, 2022
In fact, Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo, is a gathering of volunteers that believe that crypto is one of the most significant technological advancements that will influence everyone’s life.
Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo Grassroots educational group focuses on bringing together Puerto Rico and the international crypto community
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Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal
ou’re standing in front of a food truck in Yauco, falafel in hand. “Cash, card, or crypto?” asks the truck’s owner. You think to yourself, “what, this must be .0000001 of a bitcoin, right?” Outlandish as it may seem, Prof. Raúl Moris’s foodtruck, which does sell falafel, accepts crypto as payment. It goes along with the rest of his educational mission to get Puerto Ricans into the new technology on their own terms, inspired by the Cordero siblings of the 1800s who ran free social and racially integrated schools to improve literacy rates decades before slavery was even abolished and federally funded schools were established. Carrying on their legacy, “Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo” — otherwise known as Crypto for the People by the People (CCPALPUEBLO) — is an outreach program to bring together Puerto Rico and global crypto know-how. They are, as stated on their website, “…a hybrid community reconstruction, economic, development, educational event, which brings together Puerto Rico and World Crypto talent in blockchain, ledger and programming. It’s doing what crypto was created for, to help the People”.
Professor Moris is a social worker, graphic designer, and also has a Masters’ degree in demography. Over the past two years he has gotten involved in the island’s growing crypto community. Their group, Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo, is a gathering of volunteers that believe that crypto is one of the most significant technological advancements that, in some time, will influence absolutely everyone’s life. “[Most] of our knowledge is imposed – social media, the internet,
We are volunteers, we don’t have anybody or anything to sponsor us. Because of that we can say whatever we want to say without hurting people’s feelings or wallets. Prof. Raúl Moris
technology –it’s imposed on us. It comes from above, and we use it as part of our life, but we don’t understand the reasons or outcomes of something so powerful,” Moris said. People participate in the Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo events because they believe in the importance of the underlying technology. “We are volunteers, we don’t have anybody or anything to sponsor us. Because of that we can say whatever
we want to say without hurting people’s feelings or wallets,” explained Moris. Although the group has been suffering low attendance rates at their meet-ups over the past few months due to the crypto crash and bear market, they are still committed to educating everyday people. Part of their outreach includes visiting plazas and having these talks in public places, bringing education to community members who might otherwise not pursue an interest in this area. They frequent the Plaza de Guánica, where the Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo group talks with the people who show up, discussing what crypto is and how it can be a part of people’s life.
The Role Of The Diaspora
Another effort of theirs is the Crypto Repatriation project, led by a diaspora member who moved to the island a month ago and is documenting her experience on how to benefit from crypto and blockchain technologies. The diaspora has played a key role in the success of Cryptomoneda Pa’l Pueblo. “We are running our first online course – it’s a free course sponsored by diaspora. They contribute when we need them and have been key in our survival – not only for this, but historically,” said Moris. Local and federal governments are slow and inefficient in bringing aid to Puerto Rico, especially after Hurricane Maria. Celebrity diaspora, like Ricky Martin and Calle13, as well as community centers in New York and Chicago started sending money to support their family and communities back home. With over seven million Boricuas living outside the island, there is a big opportunity to include them in building a community-based crypto program. “We want our diaspora to come back home,” Moris reiterated.
