The New Wealth of Time
The excellent New Economics Forum together with Time Banking Wales and Time Banking UK have recently produced a very helpful report entitled
This report can either be downloaded from NEF by following this link or from this website by clicking on the report title above.
The NEF says about this document:
- The New Wealth of Time describes how timebanking, as a tool to stimulate co-production, is already helping to create better services across a range of areas, including mental and physical health, services for young people and older people, regeneration, housing and criminal justice.
Co-production is an idea that has appeared before both in the blog and in the Sustainable Lives group discussion. It is a theory based on the premise that people and societies flourish more readily where relationships are built on reciprocity and equity: enabling people to give freely, yet also facilitating the give-and-take of time, knowledge, skills, compassion and other assets.
Timebanking is a practical tool that enables co-production. Unlike the money economy, timebanking values all hours equally: 1 hour of time = 1 time credit, whether you are a surgeon or an unemployed single mother. Timebanking recognises that everyone, even those defined as disadvantaged or vulnerable, has something worthwhile to contribute. Timebanking values relationships that are forged through giving and receiving.
I think that Time Banking is a very significant idea that due to the current weakness of the market economy is now getting the recognition that it deserves.
As part of the Sustainable Lives process we will be organisation a semina on Timebanking later in the summer.
