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BBC News Greece bartering system popular in Volos

EUROPE
11April2012Lastupdatedat19:44ET

GreecebarteringsystempopularinVolos

ByMarkLowen
BBCNews,Volos

Afewmonthsago,analternativecurrencywasintroducedintheGreekportcityofVolos.Itwasagrassrootsinitiativethat hassincegrownintoanetworkofmorethan800members,inacommunitystrugglingtoafforditemsineurosduringa deepeningfinancialcrisis. ThehandicraftsstallatVoloscentralmarketliesattheend,justpastthehomemadejams.Afterperusingwhatthereisonoffer, HaraSoldatoupicksoutasetofdecoratedcandles,delightedwithherpurchase."Theycostme24TEM,whichIbuiltupbyoffering yogaclasses,"shesays. Whereveryouwanderthroughthemarketarea,onethingyouwon'tneedinyourpocketismoney. Fromjewellerytofood,electricalpartstoclothes,everythinghereisonsalethroughalocalalternativecurrencycalledTEM. Itworksasanexchangesystem.Ifyouhavegoodsorservicestooffer,yougaincredit,withoneeuroequivalenttooneTEM. Youcanthenuseyour"savings"tobuywhateverelseisbeingofferedthroughthenetwork,leadingtosomeratheroriginal exchangesofgoods. It'sallreminiscentofanancientbarteringsystemreturningtotoday'sGreece. "Icangetlanguageclassesorcomputerlessonsinreturn",saysStavrosNtentosfromhisstallwherehesellschildren'sunderwear. "It'saverygoodideabecauseweneedtomakepeoplerealisewecanallbuyandsellsomethingwedon'tonlyneedeuros." "Wehavereachedthebottomofourlivesandwenowhavetothinkinadifferentway,"saysTasos,avegetableseller.
Coexistingcurrencies

Thewholesystemisorganisedonline,withmembersholdingTEMaccounts,whicharedebitedwitheachvirtualtransaction. Thefounder,YiannisGrigoriou,standsnexttothecomputerbankatthemarket,surveyingproceedings. "It'sattractivebecausepeoplefindhopehere.Theyfindthingstogiveandtake,"hesays. SocouldtheTEMbecomethedominantcurrencyinVolos?

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BBC News Greece bartering system popular in Volos

"Idon'tknow",hesays,chuckling."We'llseeaboutthat." Exitingtheeurozonehasbeenafrequentlydiscussedscenariooverrecentmonths,asGreecehassunkdeeperintoitsworst recessioninmodernhistory. AndwhilesomeinthecountryseeTEMasanalternative"theeuroisathingofthepast,"explainedoneshopperitseemsmore likeabackupthanaviablereplacement. ThemayorofVolos,PanosSkotiniotis,insiststheeuroisnotindangerfromTEM. Hestandsbytheproject,butsaysthetwocurrenciescancoexist. "Wesupporttheinitiativebecauseit'saverygoodwayoutofthedeepeconomicandsocialcrisis,"hesays. "It'saninitiativethatsupplementstheeurobutdoesn'treplacetheeuro.Greeceisintheeurozone,wewanttoremaininthe eurozone,wethinkwemustremainintheeuro."
Freshstart?

Butthealternativecurrencynetworkisspreadingthroughoutthecommunity,withmoreandmorebusinessesnowdependingonit. Atalocalflowergrowingcooperativestaffedbypeoplewithlearningdisabilities,theworkersuseTEMtoselltheirplantsforother servicesthattheywouldotherwisestruggletoafford. Andmembersofthepubliccometohelpoutatthebusiness,cuttingthegrassormendingafenceinreturnfortheplantsoffered. "Wecanbuybreadormeatinexchangeforourproducts,orthegirlscangotothehairdresser,"saysPeriMantzafleri,whorunsthe cooperative. "Igrewupinavillagethiswashowitusedtoworkintheolddays,beforemoneybecameinvolved.Sothiscouldbeachanceto startagain." Andthenextgenerationisbenefitingtoo. Inthelocaltownhall,childrentakepartinlivelyactivityworkshopsamixtureofgames,songsanddrawing. ParentswhoarenowstrugglingtoaffordthesessionscanpayinpartthroughTEM,withthetwocurrenciesworkingsidebyside.
Seethings'differently'

CharalamposBardas,thecoordinatoroftheworkshops,saysthelocalcurrencyisinvaluable. "It'sabigsolutionagainstthiscrisis.Lifegoeson,wehavetofight,"hesays. "Wehavetoseethingsdifferentlynow.It'snottheendoftheworldifwehavethiscrisis.Wewanttosucceedandmoveon." Andsothissmallcommunityhasdevelopedanewtooltofightagainsttheworstfinancialcrisisthatmanyhaveeverknown. Theeuromaynotbeforcedouthere,butVoloshasfoundawayofcopingthroughalternativemeans. Asimplebarteringsystem,exchangingdespairforhope.

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