This is a book about attempts by communities to wrest control over their economic and social destinies back from the banks and large corporations whose monetary and financial machinations dominate the pecuinary landscape.
"The term community is used to describe any association of individuals, groups, or businesses that bind themselves together under an agreement to use an internal payment mechanism," the author ecplains.
"Under this definition, it is clear that a community need not be defined by geographical proximity. It is possible to conceive of a community of traders who are widely dispersed geographically. Indeed, we are seeing the emergence of Internet-based communities in which the transactions take place in cyberspace and participants are scattered all over the world."
Examples of local currency and exchange experiments include the Massachusetts Farmers' Market Coupon scrips and the HOUR notes issued in Ithaca, New York. Dozens of alternative currencies and exchange systems are shared along with advice on how to get them going.
Here are the blueprints for re-empowering communities with supplemental and alternative financial systems that bypass the debt-based monetary monopolies and return a degree of self-determination to producers and consumers alike.
