Local Currency
Charles Cresson Wood

This workshop will discuss the experience of Argentina in 2001, when its official currency system collapsed, and how an unofficial local currency system was pressed into service, successfully helping millions of people get their needs met. We will briefly survey the history of local currency systems, and the reasons why having a local currency system is desirable (giving local providers an advantage, revealing which provider is local, getting unemployed people to work, giving people a way to exchange value even if they don’t have dollars, etc.). We will additionally talk about the work of the local currency working group within Mendocino Coast Transition Towns, and where we will be going from here.

Charles Cresson Wood is a local organizer for Mendocino Coast Transition Towns, and a member of the local currency working group. He is also a risk management consultant, assisting organizations build contingency plans for the many converging crises we are now facing (notably peak oil, climate change, financial system collapse, and ecological degradation). For over thirty years, Charles has researched and consulted on the systemic risks built-into our American way of life, risks that were dramatically revealed in 2008, when we had a collapse of the worldwide financial system. In addition to other books, he is the author of the book entitled Kicking The Gasoline & Petro-Diesel Habit: A Business Manager’s Blueprint For Action.

Time Banking – Julia Frech

What is a Time Bank? How does it work? Quick overview of other Time Banks, and Mendo Time Bank in particular. How does a Time Bank serve people differently than other currencies? Also, current problems with Mendo Time Bank, obstacles we’re experiencing and struggles in creating a local currency that people actually use; Group discussion/brainstorm on how to modify the Time Bank concept, (or other currencies?) to make it more accessible, useful, and commonly used.