218
sides of a Boston time bank are discussed, based on empirical research. The reason
LETS have remained small and marginal, in relation to the dominant market economy, may have to do with a number of factors, which might include the question of
quality of skills being traded, the availability of staple goods and services and government regulations that count LETS earnings as equivalent to cash income, among
others (Seyfang 2007 ).
Japan was a forerunner in community currency experiments: in the 1970s, a volunteer labour bank allowed for inter-generational care, but was modestly successful
(Hirota 2011 ). In the late 1990s, the Director of Service Industries Division of the
Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI), Toshiharu Kato, founded the
Eco-Money network to support regional experiments in new currencies across
Japan.
4 By 2003, 25 projects were implemented by 55 different organizations across
the country. The main roles of Eco Money projects are to enhance community integrity, foster public participation, create a sustainable economic environment and
maintain a viable natural environment (Okuno 2004 ). In the Chiba prefecture, the
“peanut” was introduced as a regional currency, where one “peanut” is equal in
value to one yen; one hour of work is equal in value to 1,000 peanuts, with all transactions recorded as “plus and minuses” on individual record sheets. For example,
peanuts can be gained by helping someone build a web site and driving a neighbour
to the hospital, which can then be used towards paying for a language class (Okuno
2004 ). Visitors to the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan, could earn Expo EcoMoney points through pro-environmental actions (e.g., bringing your own bag to
the store, for example), which were then exchanged for services or products or used
to make donations to environmental projects. In another example in the Yasu-Cho
community in Shiga prefecture, community members came together to help protect
local forests and raise environmental awareness. An eco-yama (eco-mountain) card
was issued to encourage people to earn credit by helping to maintain the forest or to
help develop local renewable energies (solar and biomass). Local stores and businesses agreed to accept these credits, creating a local currency in solidarity between
local commerce, residents and the natural environment.
Levine ( 2003 ) suggests that one of the limits of the IE-natural system analogy is
that products play a central role in the economy: interactions or exchanges in industrial ecology are mutualistic when they create a positive feedback loop in terms of
product value and related economic benefi ts, yet there is no ‘analogy’ with a socially
constructed ‘product value’ in natural systems. We might imagine new ways of
assigning value to under-utilized material and energy resources, by creating new
ways of trading such products and services outside of the capitalist market economy – by incorporating social and environmental values, for example. In relation to
4 According to Lietaer ( 2004 ), eco-monies were introduced as part of a regional development strategy following Kato’s investigations in regional development elsewhere. His study of high-tech
development models in the United States, including Silicon Valley, lead him to conclude that
regional learning clusters should be promoted, involving entrepreneurs and small corporations,
alongside ecological, economic, and community-driven initiatives (Okuno 2004 ). Complementary
currencies were seen as part of this design.
M. Sahakian
sides of a Boston time bank are discussed, based on empirical research. The reason
LETS have remained small and marginal, in relation to the dominant market economy, may have to do with a number of factors, which might include the question of
quality of skills being traded, the availability of staple goods and services and government regulations that count LETS earnings as equivalent to cash income, among
others (Seyfang 2007 ).
Japan was a forerunner in community currency experiments: in the 1970s, a volunteer labour bank allowed for inter-generational care, but was modestly successful
(Hirota 2011 ). In the late 1990s, the Director of Service Industries Division of the
Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI), Toshiharu Kato, founded the
Eco-Money network to support regional experiments in new currencies across
Japan.
4 By 2003, 25 projects were implemented by 55 different organizations across
the country. The main roles of Eco Money projects are to enhance community integrity, foster public participation, create a sustainable economic environment and
maintain a viable natural environment (Okuno 2004 ). In the Chiba prefecture, the
“peanut” was introduced as a regional currency, where one “peanut” is equal in
value to one yen; one hour of work is equal in value to 1,000 peanuts, with all transactions recorded as “plus and minuses” on individual record sheets. For example,
peanuts can be gained by helping someone build a web site and driving a neighbour
to the hospital, which can then be used towards paying for a language class (Okuno
2004 ). Visitors to the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan, could earn Expo EcoMoney points through pro-environmental actions (e.g., bringing your own bag to
the store, for example), which were then exchanged for services or products or used
to make donations to environmental projects. In another example in the Yasu-Cho
community in Shiga prefecture, community members came together to help protect
local forests and raise environmental awareness. An eco-yama (eco-mountain) card
was issued to encourage people to earn credit by helping to maintain the forest or to
help develop local renewable energies (solar and biomass). Local stores and businesses agreed to accept these credits, creating a local currency in solidarity between
local commerce, residents and the natural environment.
Levine ( 2003 ) suggests that one of the limits of the IE-natural system analogy is
that products play a central role in the economy: interactions or exchanges in industrial ecology are mutualistic when they create a positive feedback loop in terms of
product value and related economic benefi ts, yet there is no ‘analogy’ with a socially
constructed ‘product value’ in natural systems. We might imagine new ways of
assigning value to under-utilized material and energy resources, by creating new
ways of trading such products and services outside of the capitalist market economy – by incorporating social and environmental values, for example. In relation to
4 According to Lietaer ( 2004 ), eco-monies were introduced as part of a regional development strategy following Kato’s investigations in regional development elsewhere. His study of high-tech
development models in the United States, including Silicon Valley, lead him to conclude that
regional learning clusters should be promoted, involving entrepreneurs and small corporations,
alongside ecological, economic, and community-driven initiatives (Okuno 2004 ). Complementary
currencies were seen as part of this design.
M. Sahakian