WHAT'S HAPPENING
The German chapter of the Time/Bank artist collective recently opened Time/Food, a pop-up restaurant in Berlin (E-flux.com, 17 February 2012).
The restaurant serves lunch every other Sunday, in exchange for time currency, earned by helping others in the Time/Bank community. The price of a meal at Time/Food is half an hour of time.
To use the restaurant, "starving" artists and interested Berliners only have to open an account on the Time/Bank website and start earning time credits.
Time/Bank is an international community and a platform for cultural workers to get things done without using money.
The idea behind the platform is to develop a parallel economy based on exchange of time and skills. Time/Bank allows individuals to request, offer and pay for services in "Hour Notes".
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
Time banking is a creative way to deal with economic pressure. Everyone can chip in what they can, and they're valued for their contributions.
Time banking, and especially the concept of Time/Food, not only has financial benefits but fosters a greater sense of community. Consumers are realising that building local relationships can benefit themselves and support the regional economy too.
RESOURCES
Time/Food
Time/Bank
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