|
| |
Why Don't You Try It?
So, now, if you are determined to set up your very own Time Bank here are some simple steps to help you get your adventure underway:
The first thing you need is a group of people to communicate with: 5 or 6 should be enough. The important thing is that there is mutual trust between all of you, and everyone must understand the basic idea of a Time Bank and declare exactly what he or she is willing to do. Better still if the group has some sort of common aim it wants to achieve and each group member can contribute something different to its realization.
Establish a statute or rulebook, which will form the basis of how the Time Bank will work. There are hundreds of examples online. Also prepare a list of members, to which future members can be added. Remember to check what your country of residence’s laws governing this kind of activity are.
Pick a coordinator to keep track of the accounts (alone to start with, then later perhaps with the help of a secretary). The coordinator should also take care of publicizing the work of the Time Bank. How the coordinator is chosen can be formalized in the statute, (by election, rotating turns, via accumulated credit…), but remember that this work should be paid somehow. You could pay partly in time credits and partly in ‘real’ cash.
The next step is to spread the word about the Time Bank, especially in the neighborhood and among anyone who can contribute to the running of it, be it in terms of economic support (necessary, for instance, for the running costs or any raw materials and definitely to reimburse the staff in part) or concerning the customers (increasing membership or stipulating terms with local businesses or institutions willing to use the Time Bank for their business or services). In short, building a support network. You’ll need some advertising, a lot of word-of-mouth and perhaps a few meetings with local politicians.
Prepare a system to administer the credit and debits. The easiest way would be to utilize some of the vast amount of software already available on line (Timekeeper, for example).
Now you can start! A great idea is to organize something special for the launch to get your time bank known and gather more support. The more concrete you are in demonstrating how it works, the more customers you will recruit. Remember that in many countries a national network of Time Banks already exists. If you join an already existing network, you’ll make your life much easier.
Finally: every now and again take the time to talk with your members to check if your Time Bank is working. Remember that many Time Banks don’t tend to live long and stop working after two to three years…
(09/06/2006)
print
|
|
|
|
|
