As the financial crisis hits citizens of Greece, and unemployment reaches an all-time high of 28 per cent, one city has fought back by creating an old-school bartering system for it’s folk.
The coastal city of Volos has developed it’s own currency called TEMs which allows citizens to barter for things that money used to buy. Food, education, clothing and even baby-sitters are being bartered in the city using the TEMs network.
Folks in the area sign up for a TEMs network account, and start amassing credits that can eventually be cashed in for things they need.
Volos Mayor Panos Skotiniotis encouraged municipal governments around the world to consider similar programs of their own to fill in where government and the traditional market are failing to adequately serve citizens: “This is a substitution for the welfare state, and that is why this municipality is encouraging it and wants it to grow.
“For its part, though, the Greek Parliament is also very supportive, passing legislation to encourage various non-traditional forms of “entrepreneurship and local development.”