[GJM] Fw: Beyond Money and Thomas Greco, was: [A-List] They don't just shop local in Totnes

[mary rose]

From: GeorgeCSDS at aol.com 
To: maryrose333 at att.net 
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 8:30 AM
Subject: fwd: [A-List] They don't just shop local in Totnes


Hi, Mary,

Another one of my "It's slow, but it's happening" fwded pieces 2 u -- 
best, rob
*****


Dear Rob, thanks a million for fwd this post. (See below)  We need these kinds of examples as to what other people are doing. And, of course, I have been promoting local currency for a long time now.  As the national economy tanks, some form of local exchange will be necessary to create our lifeboats. In order to bring about the kinds of GAIAN DEMOCRACIES, featured by Madron and Jopling in their book by the same name, it will be necessary to use local currencies so that the money is not sucked out of the local economy by outside interests (read corporations) leaving behind bankrupt communities struggling to survive.    

Thomas Greco, author of "MONEY - Understanding and Creating Alternatives to Legal Tender," and other books on local currencies, is a member of the Global Justice Movement list.  He has recently put up a new website at:  http://beyondmoney.wordpress.com/  He also has a Power Point Presentation on "How To Build Healthy Community Economies" at  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2313386777646675470&hl=en where, among other things, he talks about LETs programs, and why national economies cannot bring about justice.. He also is featuring an article  
The End of National Currency, By Benn Steil, From Foreign Affairs , May/June 2007 which is well worth a read. 

Recall that Robley George is the Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Societies. http://www.centersds.com/

with love and gratitude, Rob, for all that you do and all that we do together. 

Now enjoy Rob's post on the use of local currency in one town. mary rose  



  They have their very own currency

  by Rob Sharp

  Independent.co.uk (May 01 2008)

  If you were to nip down to Devon's Totnes market on a Saturday looking
  to buy some spelt flour pancakes, crêpes or falafels, then you might
  just encounter Lou Brown, who is a remarkably fine cook. But she has
  another, non-culinary distinction. Unlike most businesses in the
  country, Brown does not deal in currency with a picture of the Queen's
  head on it. No, instead, her change features an image much closer to
  home. The town where she lives.

  Brown, along with thousands of her fellow residents in this colourful
  south-west retreat, uses Totnes pounds: notes printed and traded locally
  (and decorated with a sepia depiction of the town's main thoroughfare).
  The idea for the pound - used in seventy businesses round these parts -
  was introduced a year ago, to promote links between local businesses
  while reducing reliance on big business. The aim is to keep money
  circulating within the town's local economy. If people are encouraged to
  buy local produce, the thinking goes, it will help to cut down on food -
  and trade - miles and also help to strengthen community relations and
  links with local producers.

  The concept has proved so popular that a cluster of other towns around
  the country are initiating copycat schemes. Indeed, it is hoped that
  similar projects can be launched in the Welsh towns of Lampeter,
  Llandeilo and Llandovery this year.

  Brown says: "People are so positive about the currency. I think lots of
  people feel supportive towards helping local producers and farmers,
  especially with the growing awareness of the effects of transport on the
  climate. Some people ask for them in their change, especially when I put
  up my sign. They are certainly disappointed when they can't get hold of
  them."

  Totnes radiates out from a bustling main road, Fore Street, peppered by
  cute boutiques run by what some locals refer to as "burnt-out people
  from the city who can afford to buy a shop and not sell anything". A
  legion of media types from London have second homes there and property
  prices are soaring. It follows that if anywhere could afford to
  experiment, it would be here. Its 8,500 residents have a reputation for
  middle-class, alternative lifestyles. Time magazine has dubbed it "the
  capital of New Age chic", while Highlife, the British Airways magazine,
  thinks it is one of the ten places to be.

  The Totnes pound was pioneered by a group of local environmentalists led
  by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande. They set up a system in which GBP
  1 coins are exchanged for 1TP at one of four "change" points around
  Totnes. There are now 6,000 Totnes pounds in circulation and plans to
  introduce further denominations.

  The idea was partly based on a US model. "BerkShares" were launched in
  the Southern Berkshire region of Massachusetts in 2006. They were a
  roaring success - some 1.43 million "BerkShares" worth $1.29 million
  (GBP 650,000) were issued in the scheme's first seventeen months and
  there are now more than 300 businesses accepting them. BerkShares'
  organisers say: "The purpose of a local currency is to function on a
  local scale the same way that national currencies have functioned on a
  national scale - building the local economy by maximising circulation of
  trade within a defined region.

  "The currency distinguishes the local businesses that accept the
  currency from those that do not, building stronger relationships and a
  greater affinity between the business community and the locals. The
  people who choose to use the currency make a conscious commitment to buy
  local first. They are taking personal responsibility for the health and
  well-being of their community by laying the foundation of a thriving
  local economy."

  As Noel Longhurst, one of the group which developed and manages the
  Totnes pound project explains: "The idea is to keep money in the area,
  thereby retaining wealth within the community. If you look at the places
  with economic problems it is because the wealth is leaking out of the
  neighbourhood."

  His zeal is matched by Alan Langmaid, the administrator of the museum in
  Totnes, although he admits "a lot do end up under fridge magnets". There
  are, however, some notable detractors. "We took Totnes pounds for only a
  year but then nobody wanted them back in change", says Ray Johnson, the
  owner of Annie's Fruit Shop, located at the end of the town's main
  thoroughfare. "That's basically the reason we stopped using them. At the
  end of each day we counted up sixty or seventy Totnes pounds in our
  till; but you could only spend them in other shops that accepted them."

  Hoping such cases would be in the minority, Hopkins and Giangrande
  administrate the currency through the town's "transition" organisation,
  created in September 2006. Following in the footsteps of a similar
  scheme in Ireland, such "transition" areas aim to stave off the twin
  threats of climate change and "peak oil". The latter refers to when the
  maximum rate of world petroleum production is reached (after which point
  production declines and prices rise sharply).

  In addition to the pound, the transition town organisation offers people
  advice at "oil vulnerability auditing workshops" on how their businesses
  can wean themselves off the black stuff; and the group is in talks with
  the council over "edible landscapes" - herb gardens instead of
  ornamental verges and bushes. They have recently secured some allotments
  for the green-fingered, and are promoting the use of energy-saving light
  bulbs. Similar ideas are in the pipeline: they are telling the town's
  inhabitants to switch over to locally generated power, and are promoting
  the use of solar water heaters.

  One of the many to paddle up this river of change is Tom Morris, the
  owner of Totnes Kayaks. Outdoor pursuits such as kayaking are popular in
  Devon, and needless to say, modern kayaks, which are made mostly from
  plastic, could be a major casualty of dwindling fossil fuel supplies.
  "We are looking at alternatives the whole time because the raw material
  and transport costs are simply not sustainable", he says. By way of
  example, he gestures to some smaller "Jackson" kayaks which use less
  plastic. "Shipping any kayak from the States, which is where many of the
  manufacturers are based, is costly. We are looking into sourcing these
  locally, by speaking to a couple of businesses who have set up plants in
  the UK. And because the shipping costs are lower, prices are lower for
  our customers." He explains that such change is partly the result of
  work done by "auditors" from the transition town organisation. They have
  been through everything in his shop and worked out how he can save money
  - and energy.

  "Wales is a hotbed of activity, as is Cornwall", says Hopkins. "We are
  now up to fifty formal transition projects and more than 700 'mullers',
  those at an earlier stage of the process - with New Zealand and
  Australia being very active. A man from Japan was over here recently,
  and he has now gone back to start transition projects there. And we are
  busily getting our literature translated into a number of languages,
  including Welsh and Japanese.

  "The viral nature of the growth of the transition movement has taken us
  all by surprise. We have gone from one transition project to there being
  fifty formal ones and more than 700 at the earlier stages just by word
  of mouth and the internet. We still have no film, nor, until very
  recently, did we have a book. I think it shows that people are hungry
  for positive solutions which engage their creativity.

  "The transition movement has been described as being 'more like a party
  than a protest march', and that feeling of being part of something
  playful and solutions-focused has undoubtedly been a part of its success."

  If he has his way, the ring of local currencies pouring out of tills
  will soon be heard up and down the country.

  Keeping it local: how alternative cash schemes work

  * The Totnes pound is worth GBP 1. Each unit of local currency is
  legally backed by an equivalent in official currency, so traders and
  customers can confidently use them, knowing that they have a real value.

  * Since local currencies are only accepted at local businesses, their
  use encourages the purchase of locally produced goods and services. This
  helps to prevent money "leaking" out of the area's economy.

  * By helping to give a boost to local producers, the scheme cuts down on
  food miles, which is better for the environment.

  * Another form of local trading is Lets (local exchange trading system).
  In this scheme, people exchange goods and services for a system of
  credits, so bypassing the formal economy.

  * Lets is not bartering. Locals set up a club and can trade in goods and
  services using Lets "points". These points can be used to buy from any
  other member. Thus, a parallel economy is created. There are thousands
  of Lets schemes around the world.

  Copyright (c) independent.co.uk

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/they-dont-just-shop-local-in-totnes--they-have-their-very-own-currency-818586.html




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