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Comment by Megan Salole on January 12, 2012 at 13:05

Lyttleton Time Bank

http://www.lyttelton.net.nz/timebank

Comment by Megan Salole on January 12, 2012 at 13:03

Rushey Green Time Trade:

Thanks to Renee Lee at Work Now

Comment by Megan Salole on January 12, 2012 at 12:54

Print out some Rollo vouchers and start trading!

Comment by Megan Salole on January 12, 2012 at 12:48

Rollos -  Social tender

What is a rollo?
A rollo is social tender. It is an alternative currency for the provision of services between two people.

$R is a unit of an hour of time, which is recorded and can be traded between people who trust each other and have complementary skills to trade. It is an alternative currency to the dollar.

It is perfect for communities and networks where people know each other and already trade skills. It puts no value on the trade exchanged, the only value is the hour of time.

So, two hours of plumbing is the same as two hours of web design or dental care or gutter cleaning. The important thing is that the amount of time traded is agreed by both parties up front.

Earn Rollos
To earn Rollos, Fran might do Fred’s Tax return.
She estimates it would take her three hours e.g. “$R3”.
Fran prints off a voucher and Fred enters the amount agreed. Fran signs it.
The voucher is made up in advance of the work (time agreed in advance) and is signed by Fred on completion of the trade.

Both parties signing the voucher validates it as ‘social tender’.
It is not valid until it holds the signature of both traders.

Now Fred owes 3 hours of time to Fran. They might agree in advance that Fred will spend 3 hours working in her garden, or they might agree to wait until something comes up that Fran needs Fred’s help with. 

Multiple trading partners
Fran might have multiple trading partners.
Frank does her lawnmowing and she trades her sewing skills with him
Freya does Massage and Fran trades yoga lessons and childcare with her
Fin does web design and Fran teaches french to him.

FAQ:
Q: Is a rollo legal tender? Are there any laws governing their usage and misuse?
A: No, rollo is ‘social tender’, and is merely a way to give some structure to exchanges that already happy and encourage skill sharing between people. The contract you make is a ‘mates contract’, and so you need to make sure that you trust the person you are trading with is reliable and will do what they say they will do.

Q: Can I trade my rollos with anyone?
A: You should trade rollos that you earn with the person that you have the contract with. It would be too easy for people to accumulate rollos fraudulently, which would devalue them so you want to directly receive the hour of service from the person who you did the hour of service for.  

Q: How do I go about initiating a trade?
Email the person that you wish to work with and pitch the job to them with the expectation of workload. Give them some examples of the types of things that you would be able to trade in return e.g. things you might have an aptitude for like proof reading, gardening, child care, house cleaning, coaching, massage, catering, home repairs… Or you could offer training for things that you have a proficiency in like a language, martial arts, surfing, playing ukulele. Or you could offer up your professional skills - e.g. design, editing, project management, supervision. Of course, rollos aren’t going to appeal to everyone, so be prepared for rejection! But if you don’t ask – you don’t get. So it’s worth trying.

Q: The partner of someone I trade with has wants skills that I want and his partner is happy to give the rollos he has earned with me to her. Is that acceptable?
A: If the two parties agree, then yes!  Rollos are easily transferable within family units (since a family or a partnership can share in the benefits) and it encourages greater diversity of skill-sets in the mix.

Q: Can it be used to pay for goods?
A: It can be used in exchange for goods, but both parties need to negotiate and agree the worth which makes it a little harder to work with. It is cleaner and simpler when a rollo is used to measure an hour of time.

Q: Can I pay part rollo, part dollars?
People can agree to combine dollars and rollos in payment. But this should be agreed by both parties and documented to save any tensions/confusions at payment time.