HOURWORLD TIMEBANK SOFTWARE
Nationally, groups like HourTime have emerged offering open-sourced software and training to start-up timebanks (allowing for time dollars to be exchanged nationally) and national conferences bringing timebanks together are held annually.
Local networks are surfacing and growing, with many seeking to form unique alliances with partners such as: the co-op movement, racial justice initiatives, arts institutions, elder care, the local living economy movement, and others. In the US, the Timebank movement is witnessing a resurgence following a drop-off in the mid nineties. Helping works better as a two-way streetĬahn initially applied his work in providing pro-bono legal services to members of disadvantaged communities with the understanding that for every hour of service he provided, recipients had to provide an equal number of hours in service of their communities.
This approach can be seen in Timebanking’s core values of: He felt that building community and countering the top down approach of social services, which views recipients only in terms of their needs versus assets available to solve many of the problems they faced, were essential. Timebanking was founded in 1980 by Edgar Cahn, an attorney who, while on bed rest after suffering a heart attack, contemplated ways to meet the growing needs of social programs at a time when funding sources were drying up. For some members, Time Banking holds the promise of transitioning society towards a community based gift economy, while others appreciate the opportunity to connect with their neighbors in a new way. Put another way, “strengthening communities through reciprocity” – the mission statement of Time Bank USA, the national organization closely affiliated with the movement’s origins. Timebanking serves as a vehicle for drawing upon the resources of a community to meet the needs of a community.
This can lead one into an inquiry about how one values time, for themselves as well as others. Every service is valued equally – one hour equals one time dollar, whether you are providing medical services or helping to clean someone’s yard. In a world accustomed to utilizing sites like Wikipedia, Craigslist and Facebook, Timebanking leverages the power of a peer-to-peer network through a platform with benefits realized in real life. There are numerous locally based Time Banks throughout the world, to which members belong and exchange services with each other, typically tracking the exchange through a web based application. Timebanking is the process of exchanging services, utilizing hours – often referred to as time dollars – as accounting units. Timebanking can is a complimentary economic activity, which falls outside of monetary transaction and, in the US, qualifies as a non-taxable activity. With the growing recognition of the current economic system’s failings, the breakdown in community, and the desire to find a place to bring one’s unique gifts into the world, many are discovering the virtues of Timebanking.
He currently serves as the Executive Director of a small family foundation. Adam recently joined the newly formed Santa Fe TimeBank where he has spent the last few weeks helping facilitate the group’s infrastructure development. His efforts are inspired by a desire to bring forward the simplicity inherent in natural wisdom to better align complex systems to be in harmony with a natural order. Below you’ll also find a links to several recent and upcoming Time/Bank events that e-flux has been promoting in the arts communities.Īdam has spent the last decade working in the philanthropic and social profit fields.
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