Regen Commons · Standards Libraryv1.0

RCL Plain-Language Deed

The Regenerative Commons License — Deed

One-page human-readable summary of the Regenerative Commons License v1.0

This Deed is a plain-language summary, not the license itself. The legally binding text is at RCL-License-v1.0.md. When the Deed and the License differ, the License controls.

What this is

The Regenerative Commons License (RCL) is a license for the standards, methods, data, code, and narrative work of the regenerative commons. It governs how people and organizations use the Verified Living Asset Standard (VLAS), the Regenerative Capital Credit System (RCCS), the Five Capitals frameworks, Story of Place methods, and related works.

It is not an open-source license in the OSI sense. It is an open commons license — open to qualifying participants, closed to extractive use.

What you can do under RCL

If you qualify (see below) and your use is non-extractive, you can:

  • Read, study, and cite the work
  • Build with it — adapt methods, run pilots, teach, write
  • Make derivative work that flows back to the commons
  • Operate on a place you steward, with full economic rights to your place's outputs

Three doors in

You enter the commons through one of three eligibility paths. Pick whichever fits you.

🅰 Eligible Entity

For organizations committed to public benefit: Delaware PBCs, B-Corps, 501(c)(3)s and (c)(4)s, cooperatives, Indigenous nations, public bodies, accredited academic institutions, foundations, CICs, and other public-benefit forms — plus individuals for personal use.

🅱 Credentialed Educator

For full-time teachers, accredited faculty, recognized independent educators (Regenesis, Schumacher, Bioneers, Living Future, etc.), Indigenous knowledge faculty, and doctoral candidates. Personal teaching and consulting revenue is permitted under a sliding-scale Knowledge Commons Contribution.

🅲 Designated Steward

For individuals, families, villages, watershed councils, Indigenous nations, land trusts, and urban commons collectives holding ongoing place-based stewardship responsibility. Full economic rights to your stewarded place's outputs. No dividend obligation — you ARE the dividend recipient.

Three gates

You go as deep as you choose.

GateStatusWhat you get
Gate 1Self-declarationProvisional License + provisional mark + project workspace
Gate 2Stewardship Office reviewCertified License + green mark + Living Map listing + free Place Pulse reports
Gate 3VLAS Conformance auditGold mark + the right to issue Verified Living Assets, operate registries, or publish adapters

Most people stay at Gate 1 or Gate 2. Only a small number need Gate 3.

What you must do

  • Attribute the work (originator, version, steward, link)
  • Preserve provenance on any derivative
  • Don't claim conformance you haven't earned
  • Respect FPIC with Place Communities
  • Honor Indigenous data sovereignty — Local Contexts TK/BC Labels apply
  • Share back — derivative methods, datasets, and learnings flow to the commons (Track B and C)

What you can never do

  • Use the work to optimize fossil fuel extraction, industrial monoculture, deforestation, surveillance of communities or workers, military targeting, or speculation against the communities and places the work describes
  • Train general-purpose AI foundation models on the RCL corpus without a separate written agreement
  • Build proprietary closed-source competitors to VLAS, RCCS, or Life AI using the licensed work
  • Commodify or tokenize Indigenous traditional knowledge
  • Make conformance claims without conformance
  • Issue financial instruments referencing RCL standards or data without VLAS conformance
  • Greenwash

These prohibitions apply to every licensee, regardless of path, regardless of gate. Filter 2 has no exceptions.

Reciprocity

The commons sustains itself through reciprocity, not extraction.

  • Eligible Entities at Track C (commercial use): 10% of gross attributable revenue flows to the Place Community Fund of the bioregion of origin
  • Credentialed Educators: flat sliding-scale Knowledge Commons Contribution (free under $50k; $250 / $750 / $2,000 by revenue band)
  • Designated Stewards: no dividend — stewards are the dividend recipient class

The Place Community has standing

The bioregional community of origin is a third-party beneficiary of this license with independent enforcement rights. They can call out greenwashing, withdraw FPIC, and bring action against the Steward, the licensor, or any licensee. This is the structural teeth of the commons.

How to apply this license to your work

This work is licensed under the Regenerative Commons License v1.0, Track [A/B/C].
The work is dedicated to the regeneration of [place / bioregion / domain].
Full license: https://commons.zoen.earth/license/v1.0
Attribution: [originator] · [steward] · [version]
DERIVATIVE / NON-AUTHORITATIVE unless certified.

How to get started

Visit commons.zoen.earth and complete the Gate 1 form. You'll choose your path, accept the Acceptable Use Policy, and receive your provisional license within minutes.

Steward of this license: Regenerative Development Corp (RDC), transitioning to the VLAS Trust upon its constitution.

License version: 1.0 · Published: TBD upon Wave 1 launch · Canonical URL: https://commons.zoen.earth/license/v1.0

Zoē is life. Living is zoen.

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