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Time Banking is a type of complementary currency. Local community trading and bartering systems help to create empowerment and resilience in communities by enabling local trading of goods and services without relying on the national money system.
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What you can offer is limited only to your imagination.
Sometimes people find it difficult to work out what skills to offer as a Time Bank member. You can offer any skill except what you do for your taxable income, as the LTB currently holds a tax exemption status from the IRD on this basis. We often don't realise how valuable our other skills are. That means things that we are good at, things we enjoy, hobbies or talents. Be creative!
Sometimes people feel they have no spare time. But if we do the things we like, for instance sewing or cooking, and get another member to do the things we don't enjoy so much, for example gardening, we find the time we do have is spent more enjoyably and we are also helping others in our community.
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Some of the skills on offer at Lyttelton Time Bank are:
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Can we join as a couple or as a family? |
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Yes you can. The choice is yours. You can join as a couple or family. It might be that later on you decide to have separate member accounts. For example, sometimes families join up on one member account, but then the children decide that they want their own account. Time credits are transferable throughout the system, so it is also a simple process to transfer some of the hours through as well, if you wish. |
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What is the Community Treasure Chest? |
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The Community Treasure Chest (CTC) is a community Time Bank account. Here you can donate as many or as little of your Time Bank dollars to the chest. You can do this as often or as little as you like. What happens to the time dollars that you donate? At the discretion of your Time Bank Member Coordinator they will be given to any member(s) or community group that may be in need of them, for whatever reason.
If you want to donate hours to the Community Treasure Chest contact the member coordinator to find out how to give this wonderful gift of time. |
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Can the Time Bank system be abused? |
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It hasn't as yet. Every time a member makes a transaction on the Time Bank the member coordinator gets a copy of the transaction. In addition, if the coordinator had any concerns about a particular member that member could be placed on 'Guardian Angel Mode'. The software will then allow her to see every transaction/ conversation that particular member is having.
However, time banking is about building trust in the community. If our coordinator noticed that a particular member was receiving what appeared to be an excessive amount of hours then she would call the member to enquire if they were OK. Perhaps they have broken a leg or going through some trying personal circumstances? Perhaps they need more help? This is where the Community Treasure Chest can assist. |
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What if the trade was only 15 minutes? |
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Time can be put through in increments. Generally it makes sense to round them up, we encourage to the hour. You can agree the exact amount of time to put through with the person you are trading with. |
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How do time credits work? |
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One hour = one hour. You spend one hour of your time doing something you enjoy doing for someone else, and you gain one time credit. You can then spend this on having something done for you. Time credits do not expire. They are completely transferable to any other member or organisation on the LTB. |
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Either the receiver or giver of a trade can input the hours. Either way, the transaction will be displayed in each time bank account. The receiver and giver of a trade will be notified of the transaction, in their email in box. If it has been input incorrectly, either of you can edit this. |
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How do I go about my first trade? |
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Our trading buddy is here to assist! It's up to you. Some members are more than happy to just get stuck in and work it all out themselves. However, our trading buddy is here to guide you through the process i.e. help you search to find the service you require, attend first trade with you and show you how to put through your hours. |
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It's really important to put up a photo of yourself. The reasoning is two-fold:-
- Being able to 'see' someone encourages more of a community feel to the website.
- Identification – when you are trading with a member for the first time, you can be assured they are who they say they are.
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What if I trade with more than one person at a time? |
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I spent one hour teaching six people how to knit. Do I get six hours time credits?
No you don't. You have only give one hour of your time, therefore you can only claim one hour. The remaining five hours go into the Community Treasure Chest. |
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What about liability? What if a member is injured during a trade? |
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The Lyttelton Time Bank is run under the umbrella of Project Lyttelton. Project Lyttelton has Public Liability Insurance. This insurance covers time bank members for events held on the Project Lyttelton site.
As part of the on-line registration process members must read and agree to the Terms and Conditions of time banking. One of these conditions is that the Lyttelton Time Bank “shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by information contained on this web site or any other Time Bank resources”. |
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