London Links
How local is local? or How can organisations trade?
by
Mary Fee, LetsLink London
We
are in the process of launching a London-wide-LETS (LWL),
trading in "links" to provide an easy inter-trading
mechanism between the three dozen or so schemes which
are members of Letslink London (LLL), and also enable
other organisations and individuals to join direct.
LETS
groups or businesses using the services of their own
members to trade with each other can still, however,
pay them in their own currency. Another method
of intertrading is for a member of several schemes who
has too much of one currency, to swap with someone else
who has the opposite predicament, a service which can
be advertised as an offer in the newsletter. Or "links"
can simply be used as an independent London-wide currency.
I
wonder if groups of LETS schemes in other parts of the
country have set up regional currencies, how the details
have been worked out, and in general how well they have
fared? In Scotland "scotias" and the Southwest
"celts", the regional currency has been designed
as notes which may be bought by cheque transactions
within each scheme as long as each scheme does not exceed
its credit limit, so they work as a common currency
between schemes rather than a separate scheme
being established.
We
will report on the progress of these various schemes
as they develop. Once more regional currencies are in
place, we can then consider how or whether to link them
up. We would value hearing your updates or views on
these issues. Contact: Mary Fee: 020-7607 7852, www.oneworld.org/letslinklondon,
mary@letslinkuk.org
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