Time Banking: Take Charge

Bob Ewing - The local employment rate hovers around 16 per cent. For many, the future looks bleak and because the provincial government is focused on bringing down a huge deficit, they cannot turn to the politicians for assistance. In fact, the cuts being made in the name of reducing the deficit are likely to result in more people being unemployed. So what do people do?

First, let us rethink the market place, and how we go about obtaining goods and services. There are alternatives to how we do business. For example, the proponents of timebanking present it as a means for people with little money to get what they requite.

“Timebanking is a means of exchange used to organize people and organizations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency.  For every hour participants ‘deposit’ in a timebank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need. In each case the participant decides what they can offer. Everyone’s time is equal, so one hour of my time is equal to one hour of your time, irrespective of whatever we choose to exchange.”

Timebanks are a means of exchange which is what money is. In our current system, the focus is on money; people, (those who can) get a job, get paid and then exchange the pay for what they need, food, housing, clothing, for example. Now with a timebank you change the means of exchange from money to good works based upon the skills and abilities people already have.

If you want to take a creative approach to solving some of the problems within your community or you simply need to put some bread on the table, you may want to start a timebank.

According to the California Federation of Time Banks, there are seven steps involved in setting up a time bank. The first is:

First thoughts:

What do you want to achieve with your Time Bank?
Who do you see joining?
Who can you ask for help and support?

Social activities can play an important rile in developing your time bank. Bring people together to enjoy a meal, it can be potluck, and have fun. Fun and food are great motivators.

The process of setting up a time bank has a positive side effect, one that is very similar to what happens when a community garden is begun: that is, strangers become friends. This takes place when people come together united in a cause and purpose, and this is what we need to transform our society from the mess it is in, to a sustainable system that thrives, a community were the people who do the work benefit.

Time/Bank teaches cooperation without greed

Samantha Torrence - As a child you are told “If you can’t pay for your meal at the restaurant they will make you wash dishes!” The warning is meant to signify a degrading punishment for skipping out on a bill. The Time/Bank restaurant, however, puts this practice in a whole new light. There you pay for your meal by offering 30 minutes of your time, and maybe that means just washing dishes.  Through the idea of exchanging a person’s time and services, Time/Bank has helped people truly understand that their time is their most valuable resource.

As a system of survival Time/Banks may not be the most sufficient, but as a way to improve your community using your time and skills it is inspiring. The Time/Banks set up around the world have had a great impact on local communities, but especially on the artistic community. In the world of art success is fleeting, but the passionate commit to their work and may suffer for it. With Time/Bank a starving artist may not have to literally starve.

Eflux.com has set up a Time/Bank with 4 branches in Australia, New York, Germany, and Holland. Local artists can make an account with the Time/Bank and begin posting services and volunteering to help someone else. The ‘job postings’ list what service is needed or available and many times what the person can offer in return from their own skills and time.  Giving time to one another does not always have to be in trade with that person. The Time/Bank sets up the account as a community pool so you can earn time and share time with others in need of more time for a bigger project.

The Time/Bank principle is very basic and easy to understand. It is currency that shows how many minutes or hours of your work you have given to the community, or it is a direct exchange of hour for hour with another person. People who amass great amounts of hours can only spend them at accepting local businesses. The currency itself does not have pull or sway over others as it does not represent wealth but the value of time. In this way people are encouraged to work and help one another without thought of unnecessary gain.  Time/Banks take greed out of the equation and introduce cooperation and good will.

Innovations like Time/Bank are extremely helpful at a local level. In America where the economy has come to near collapse because of greed and the unequal value of time and skill in the monetary system a Time/Bank may help a local community thrive in spite of state or federal problems. Time/Bank helps local farms and mom and pop grocery stores that accept the currency the ability to compete and make a stable life in a small town. As the movement of Time/Banking grows it may have a stabilizing effect on currency with not as many American ‘notes’ being used in local markets it can be saved for federal and state commerce and increase the value of the dollar in the international community.

Time/Banking can also encourage local farmers to focus on the immediate community and for people to focus on locally grown foods which will increase the popularity of the Farmer’s Market movement. Food, goods, and livestock give people the chance to be self-sustaining, a lauded conservative principle and the goal of many grass roots movements in America. Time being the coveted good and service makes all people on equal footing with one another so people do not feel undervalued in society without the use of social weapons that cause resentment towards one another. This equal footing is really equal opportunity towards a happiness that can only be sustained in a place where social capital and time capital are valued above greed.