Decentralize Community Savings on Solana

Rotating savings groups (sometimes called "ajo," "esusu," or "tontines") are a cornerstone of community finance in many cultures. Members contribute a fixed amount on a regular schedule, and each round one member receives the full pool. The problem: these groups run on trust alone. There's no transparency, no enforcement, and no recourse when someone defaults or disappears with the pot.

I built a decentralized rotating savings application on the Solana blockchain that brings transparency and automation to community savings groups.

A group organizer creates a savings circle and sets the contribution amount, frequency, and number of members

Members join the circle and connect their wallets

Smart contracts written in Rust handle contribution collection and payout distribution automatically each round

Every transaction is recorded on-chain, so all members can verify contributions and payouts in real time

The rotation continues until every member has received their payout

Solana for on-chain smart contracts and transaction processing

Rust for writing the Solana programs

Next.js for the frontend interface

Node.js for backend API and business logic

MongoDB as the primary database for user and group data

Supabase as a backup data layer for redundancy

Trustless by design: Smart contracts enforce contributions and payouts, removing the need to trust a single organizer

Full transparency: Every contribution and payout is verifiable on-chain

Low fees: Solana's transaction costs are fractions of a cent, making it viable for small community savings amounts

Familiar concept, modern infrastructure: People already understand rotating savings; this just removes the risk