New timebank in Tel Aviv

Our engineer Matthew Slater was invited to Israel along with reformer Ben Dyson to present his software at a monetary reform event. Complementing Ben's talk about money, government and banking, Matthew showed how locally issued fiat currencies could be used to manfiest local values, and how emphasising accounting metrics other than the actual balance (total earned minus total spent) can indicate a user's contribution to the community.

The visit also coincided with the creation of a new currency at a cooperative bar that emerged out of the massive 2011 protest movement. The currency unit is called a 'Shefa' which means an abundance, or surplus, and complements the name of the national currency unit, the Shekel.
The project is experiencing rapid early adoption, and it has high hopes to supply other time banks with software in the coming months.

Community Forge looks forward to building a long and productive relationship with its collaborators in Israel.