Local Money is an exciting and practical guide to creating local currencies - showing how they can help us unleash the power of our communities to build a resilient economic future. The economic crisis and the bailing out of the banks by taxpayers has made us all aware of the vulnerability of our financial system. We need to think urgently about how to reclaim the power that the bankers hold. In past recessions and depressions across the world, communities have done just that - by creating their own forms of money. This book is an inspiring guide that helps you understand what money is and how you can create money that stays in the community - building loyalty between consumers and local traders rather than losing wealth to the corporate chain stores. It explains how alternative currencies can work with local banks and credit unions to strengthen the local economy, supporting the local production of necessities such as food and energy while helping to reduce the community's carbon emissions. Local Money draws on the long history of local currencies, from Local Exchange Trade systems and time banks to paper currencies such as BerkShares, Ithaca Hours and German regional currencies, which circulate betweeen local businesses as an alternative to their losing trade to the big box retailers. This story culimates in the development of the first Transition currencies in the UK, the Totnes, Lewes, Stroud and Brixton Pounds.
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Whoever controls money controls our lives. Taking back that power for good, not harm, has to be at the heart of new thinking after the crash. Without change, the next one could be Armageddon. This book tells every community everywhere how to make local money work for local good. --Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist
A local currency is essential for greater local resilience. Peter North's comprehensive and well-written survey of local money systems is the best guide by far for communities planning to launch their own currency. --Richard Douthwaite, author The Growth Illusion
A local currency is essential for greater local resilience. Peter North's comprehensive and well-written survey of local money systems is the best guide by far for communities planning to launch their own currency. --Richard Douthwaite, author The Growth Illusion
About the Author
Peter North has been exploring local currencies worldwide since 1992 and is one of the founder members of Transition South Liverpool.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Since money is just an agreed mechanism of exchange, there are many different kinds of money, and endless possibilities for re-creating it. Local Money' begins with an introduction to money and a history of alternative currencies, and then dedicates a chapter each to a series of experiments with money - Time banking, Local Exchange Trading Schemes, Berkshares, Germany's local currencies and the Argentinian barter schemes during the country's economic collapse in the 90s. North then explains the latest round of experiments from the Transition Towns movement, and then ends with some tantalizing glimpses of the future of money.
The four Transition currencies get the most attention. This is the really practical bit if you're ready to have a go at creating your own money - lots of advice about getting buy-in from businesses, how much to print, why you should think long and hard about the name of your currency, tax implications, and so on.
Peter North knows that everything in the book is an experiment, and the book is great at breaking down historical examples to see what worked and what didn't. It's honest too, acknowledging the failures and limitations of what has been tried so far as well as the successes. If you're ready to embark on the rather exciting journey of local money in your town, this is the most helpful book I've come across so far.
However, the book might have been better titled 'Local currency', rather than 'local money'. The book is great on currencies, but there could have been more on other kinds of local money, such as credit unions, local bonds, microfinance, or credit clearance. Some of these get a passing mention, but I would have liked to read more.
If you've read about alternative currencies in the past and wondered how you go about creating one, this is the book for you though. Let's hope it's a catalyst for a new generation of local money projects.
The four Transition currencies get the most attention. This is the really practical bit if you're ready to have a go at creating your own money - lots of advice about getting buy-in from businesses, how much to print, why you should think long and hard about the name of your currency, tax implications, and so on.
Peter North knows that everything in the book is an experiment, and the book is great at breaking down historical examples to see what worked and what didn't. It's honest too, acknowledging the failures and limitations of what has been tried so far as well as the successes. If you're ready to embark on the rather exciting journey of local money in your town, this is the most helpful book I've come across so far.
However, the book might have been better titled 'Local currency', rather than 'local money'. The book is great on currencies, but there could have been more on other kinds of local money, such as credit unions, local bonds, microfinance, or credit clearance. Some of these get a passing mention, but I would have liked to read more.
If you've read about alternative currencies in the past and wondered how you go about creating one, this is the book for you though. Let's hope it's a catalyst for a new generation of local money projects.
By Julie Lowe
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this as a one stop shop for local money. I found it an easy read and and inspiring one too ! We are seriously thinking of introducing it to our town. Make it happen !
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book, but short on specifics
16 Jan 2013
By D.J. Gauthner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very good and readable book, but it's a bit too touchy-feely for my tastes, and it needs specifics on how one goes about actually setting up the actual printing and distribution process of local money. What sort of printers do you use? And stuff like that.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done!
16 Aug 2011
By Rich
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great book, very detailed and informative. The only "fault" I see with it is it doesn't talk much at all about the "Liberty Dollar" and I wish it had as well as the legal issues that came up with them.
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what it was advertised to be
30 Jun 2011
By Gary Hartzler
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book was in excellent condition and basically a good book, but it is not the book it was advertised to be. The ad was about how to find money to operate local charities, the book was about how to create local economic systems - essentially bartering groups in various forms (with some higher economic processes that were even less relevant).
The people I purchased the book for are returning it, I understand.
The people I purchased the book for are returning it, I understand.
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Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars
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