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Comment: |
Local Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS) are barter systems through which the community can exchange its skills or services, without using money (sterling). There are many schemes operating in the country, the local ones to the Forest of Dean being Stroud, Gloucester and many in Bristol.
Trading schemes bring the community together and put local people in touch with local skills. They are first line regeneration systems as they keep currency in the local community and bring people from all walks of life together.
It is simple to operate. Each member has a `cheque book' and a copy of a directory in which the services of all members are listed. There are no physical tokens - it's more like earning gold stars or brownie points. LETS currency is only earned by trading, so members put currency into their accounts by doing work for other members. If you want a job done on LETS, you phone someone in the directory and negotiate a `price' in the local currency units.
With LETS you do not Barter in the normal sense of the word. It's like using imaginary money where you purchase a service or sell an item without doing a `swap'.
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