Sharing in our Neighborhoods - Sept 24

Are you worried about the economy? Are you wondering how you might
meet your family's needs with little cash? Are you curious about
alternative currencies and other ways of sharing finances within a
community?

On Thurs evening Sept 24, the Environmental Change-Makers will hold an
event which explores many ways of Sharing within Our Neighborhoods.
(7-9pm in Westchester)

There are many ways of sharing finances within
communities, including time banks, LETS systems, barter, and other
creative sharing arrangements. Some of these are ways to meet our
needs cash-free. Others are ways to reduce costs or to access things
we might not get alone.

If you don't know much about alternative currencies or time banks,
we'll explain what they are. But despite the press attention to local
currencies, alternative finances don't end there. At our Sept 24
event we'll explore many other ways of sharing.

In Portland, they have a tool sharing arrangement, which works a lot
like borrowing books from a library. In some communities, people join
together to create a neighborhood home improvement group, working
together on projects at different members' homes each month. Garden
sharing is where a property owner gives a gardening friend permission
to grow vegetables on the property-owner's land. Childcare co-ops,
elder care co-ops, carsharing, group purchasing and more, all expand
the list.

As the economy contracts, cash is becoming tougher to come by. Skill
sharing is an attractive way of meeting our needs with little or no
cash. Bartering is the idea of a one-to-one swap: you wash my car, I
mow your lawn, and the deal is complete. A LETS system (“Local
Exchange Trading System") is more sophisticated and can be compared to
the idea of tracking "favors": I help you with childcare, and later
use the credits I gained toward carpentry services from another person
within the same network.

At the Sept 24 event, you'll have the opportunity to sign up for some
of the simpler sharing arrangements, including a group purchase of
bareroot fruit trees. You'll meet like-minded individuals, and you
can participate in discussion circles about how we might go about
creating the more complex forms of sharing here in LA.

Community-based finances are part of our journey into the future. As
we leave the era of cheap, plentiful energy, we will have less ability
to transport ourselves and our goods around the planet. Our economies
will become much more localized. Putting community-based sharing
arrangements into place now strengthens our local resources and
prepares us for the future.

If you are interested in any of these sharing ideas, come join the
gathering on Sept 24. If you're not from Westchester, come anyway and
we'll show you how to do it where you live.

Environmental Change-Makers, Thurs Sept 24, 7-9pm, Community Hall of
Holy Nativity, 6700 W. 83rd, Westchester. The event is free, but we
appreciate your donations and ask that you bring a can of food to
contribute to LAX Food Pantry.

Resources for this sharing event (which explain many of the above
terms) are linked from http://envirochangemakers.org/ECM.calendar.htm