By Thomas H. Greco, Jr., Open Democracy
Whatever they are called—vouchers, scrip, credits, certificates or coupons—sound private and community currencies can be spent into circulation by any trusted producer or reseller who is ready, willing, and able to reciprocate by redeeming the equivalent amount as payment for real value.
By James Stodder, Bernard Lietaer, Patterns of Commoning
The Swiss WIR (“We” in German) is the longest surviving social or community currency, sometimes called a complementary currency.
By David McCarthy, Maria Reidelbach, Grassroots Economic Organising
New alternative and complementary currencies are a growing worldwide trend, and many states in the US have created their own local curriencies.
By Thomas H. Greco, Jr., Common Dreams
People everywhere need to stand in solidarity with the people on the front lines, and right now the front lines are in Greece.
By Graham Barnes, Feasta
Creating and maintaining a currency without any interaction with fiat is clearly a challenge. It’s like asking fish to reinvent water while they are swimming around in it.
By Lauranne Nys, Future Perfect
In a deprived district of the small Belgian city of Ghent, the local Toreke coin reveals how big the transformative impact of alternative currency systems can be.
By Graham Barnes, Feasta
From one particular point of view – that of money as private property – the idea that money could be treated as a Common Pool Resource (CPR) [1] seems patently absurd.
By Chris Tittle, Shareable
A community without dollars is not a community without wealth – this basic insight lies at the heart of the community resilience movement.
By Leander Bindewald, New Economics Foundation
One currency seems not to be able to serve every human need alone.
By Resilience.org Staff, Resilience.org
•The Other Side of the Coin in Spain •Avoiding Economic Collapse: Complementary Currencies •Social currencies gain strength in Brazil •Digital Gold Rush: The Bitcoin Boom and Its Many Risks •Bitcoin interest spikes in Spain as Cyprus financial crisis grows •Why one English town created its own currency