Change through exchange

>> Local barter groups thrive on service swaps By WAYNE HILTZ

Khozon knows a good thing when he sees it. For over two years, the Bangladeshi immigrant has been an active member of Project Genesis's barter system, where members exchange services for other services, instead of money. Using it about once a month, he receives benefits both concrete and psychological.

"Whenever I need a service like getting my Internet fixed, I can get it at no cost," he says. "But I don't think too much of how many hours I received or gave. It's also about building personal relationships and a sense of belonging and community." The group has seen 310 exchanges totalling 550 hours since its founding in 1997.

Barter groups--known as Local Economic Trading Systems (LETS)--are making a comeback in many Western countries. Since the rebirth in the early 1980s of this pre-monetary system of exchange, LETS members now claim over 100,000 members in 1500 different groups worldwide.

LETS go!

There are five Montreal groups, whose total of over 300 members receive a list of services offered by other members, along with their phone numbers. The exchanges are reported to a coordinator who keeps track of each member's credits and debits.

"LETS basically reject the principle of consumption and try to put into place an economic alternative," says Charles Gutknecht, coordinator of the Point St-Charles LETS which was formed last summer.

Geared to a low-income population, the 35-member Point St-Charles LETS is typical of Montreal barter groups. Many of the members, who are on welfare, use the group to develop self-esteem and break down isolation.

"I've met many new people and the exchanges help me regain confidence in myself and my skills, making me feel socially useful and valued," says Point LETS member Hermel Corbin.

One of the oldest LETS in Montreal is the Community Services Exchange Bank (CSEB). Founded in 1996 by Ecology Montreal activists, most of its 94 members are Plateau and Mile-End residents.

With some internal grumblings, CSEB chose to deviate from the principle of all services being of equal time value: members are allowed to negotiate up to two hours of credits for one hour of work.

"While some stood firm on egalitarian principles of one hour for one hour, most preferred to have greater flexibility," says CSEB coordinator Michel Gaudreault.

And there is more community-spirited barter on the horizon. Petit-Patrie's LETS is one of two new kids on the block, the other being the LETS in Bordeaux-Cartierville. Two more groups are in the process of being formed. The growth in the movement is in part due to the Inter-LETS network composed of most Montreal barter groups. Besides putting out a regular newsletter, the Inter-LETS will soon set up a Web site with links to its member groups. It's another example of networking in the age of networks, and one that shows, says Gaudreault, "that we can have other ways to think and work." :

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