The practice of community currencies is at a crucial point in its global history – never before have there been so many initiatives, models, theories and widespread hopes in the field as today. People are turning to currencies as solutions for social, economic and environmental challenges in their communities – whether communities of traders, local residents or health and social care providers.

By creating new ways to exchange time and goods, new currencies provide a valuable addition to conventional money and the narrowly profit orientated economies it supports. They allow people to build connections that don’t depend on how many pounds you might have in your wallet, purse or bank account. Thanks to advances in technology and a big increase in the awareness of the need to form economically and environmentally sustainable communities, discussions on how to make money work better for people are now entering mainstream policy debates.  READ MORE