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time bank

Three Reasons to Join a Time Bank

By | Social Enterprise, The Thagomizer | 4 Comments

A time bank is an alternative system that exchanges hours at a one to one ratio. That means for every hour you give to someone through the time bank, you get an hour back to give to someone for an hour of their time. For example, say you join the time bank and find a woman who needs cooking lessons; you offer to help her out. For your hour of instruction on the finer points of the culinary arts you receive an hour you can now spend on learning how to sail from another time bank member.

Time banking allows us to exchange with our neighbors in a different way and recognize assets that are often swept under the rug in a traditional economy. Here are a couple perks of joining a time bank in your community:

  1. Redefine Your Assets. In a traditional economy our assets are defined as something we get paid for but in reality we offer a lot more than that. Taking care of an elderly neighbor, sharing your hobby with someone, helping with household chores, giving rides to the airport – these are just a few of the things we do every day that go unnoticed. If you were to list your assets, they would most likely go beyond your job duties and include fantastic things like hot air balloon pilot, triathlete, brainstormer of crazy ideas, pianist, pet-sitter, party planner, etc. You might not be able to make a living out of it but you can still exchange your talents with your peers through the time bank.
  2. Build Your Network. Participating in a time bank can introduce you to new people in your community you might have never met otherwise. In the process of the time exchange we form relationships with people in our community and build a strong network of people willing to help each other out. Networks make our community stronger by building collective strength, support, and trust. Now I’m no doomsday-er; I was pretty confident we would make it to December 22, 2012. But sometimes I do think about what would happen if something terrible happened to my community. Be it a natural disaster, zombie outbreak, or just a personal calamity, strong networks are key for building a resilient community. If we know our neighbors and their assets better we can better band together no matter what situation we face.
  3. Get Something in Return. Of course one great perk of being part of a time bank is what you get back. Have you made a new year’s resolution to learn guitar, speak a new language, lose weight, meet new people? A time bank can help you with all of that in exchange for just a couple hours helping someone else meet their goals.  With that reciprocity we can all work together to build a better world for ourselves and everyone.

Are you convinced? This directory from Time Bank USA can help you find a local time bank. If there’s a time bank in your community, join it and start exchanging. If not, maybe one of your new year’s resolutions can be to start a time bank in your home town.