From: "North, Peter" <P.J.North@...>


Dear all

Green Books in the UK will be publishing a guide to alternative
currencies as part of their "Transition Guides" series called: "Money:
how to unleash a money revolution where you live". I am writing it,
and it will be published in September next year. It won't be an
inaccessible academic tome, but an affordable accessible 'how to'
guide. I have to deliver the manuscript in February.

This is an open call for you to get in touch with me if you think you
have a good story about setting up an alternative currency scheme of
any kind (LETS, LETSystem, Time Money, Time Dollar, Hours, scrip,
Totnes or Lewes Pound, regional money etc) that you feel those
interested in setting up currencies, perhaps as part of their
transitioning to deal with climate change and peak oil.

I am interested in good examples of:

• setting up currency schemes in different examples.

• designing systems that do work (ie, you have a track record of
success, NOT "it would work if only you did xxx" Tell me when you did
xxx and why it worked.)

• managing circulation - avoiding overlarge hoards or debts,
managing people leaving without paying off debts, credit limits,
deciding how much scrip to print)

• involving hard to reach communities, and businesses.

• working with local authorities.

• publicity and promotion

• explaining to new people how it works.

I am relatively familiar with things in the UK, New Zealand, Hungary
and Argentina, and quite up to date with the states and Canada - it
would be good to hear about things elsewhere.

we have a good track record in overselling what complementary
currencies can do, and not talking about what does not work. So I
want the experiences to be grounded and verified, not just peoples
hopes and pet theories about what could happen - but also optimistic.

experience is that when financial systems crash we see an
effervescence of alternative currency networks. We now have a lot of
experience about what works and how to avoid the pitfalls. This is a
chance to distil that experience.

Of course, anyone who gets in touch with me and we use their stuff
will be credited.

I look forward to your experiences.

Peter North
Department of Geography
University of Liverpool

‘It is the one great and universal interest of the human race to be
cordially united and to aid each other to the full extent of their
capacities.’ Robert Owen





---------------------------------------
Dr Gill Seyfang
RCUK Academic Fellow
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

tel: +44 (0) 1603 592956
personal: www.uea.ac.uk/~e175/
department: www.uea.ac.uk/env/





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