�We have what we need if we use what we have� Edgar Cahn
Author of No More Throw Away People � the co-production imperative
Creator of Time Dollars and Time Banking.
- Time banking was devised by Edgar Cahn in the 1980s where it was launched in the USA as time dollars. (see timedollar.org )
- In England the first time bank was set up in Stonehouse in Gloucestershire in October 1998 under the name of Fair Shares.
- Time Banks UK, the umbrella charity for time banking in the UK, started in 2000.
- The principle of time banking is the currency is time.
- One hour of help given to someone else earns one time credit
- Everyone�s time is valued equally and one hour always earns one time credit. Everyone�s contribution is welcomed and valued equally.
- Time credits are deposited in a time bank. They can be withdrawn at will and spent on a whole range of skills and opportunities on offer from other members of the time banks.
- The time bank is run by a time broker (a kind of matchmaker) and all details of the participants skills, needs and availability are stored confidentially in the time bank computer so that any request for help can be immediately �matched� with the right local person.
- When communities use the time banking tool they relearn the value of �give and take� (reciprocity). The more Time Credits that circulate the more people share their time and talents with each other, the stronger the community becomes.
- Everyone has the chance to be both a giver and receiver and is able to define him or her self as a productive member of the local community.
- Over time, informal networks of trust and support evolve that act much like a new form of extended family � connecting people and respecting their autonomy.
Glossary
Time bank � refers to the organisational setting and the administrative system for using time credits.
Time credits � are the units used to measure the use of the community currency based on time.
Time brokers � are the people who run the time bank and connect people locally.
