Sunday's Washington Post

September 28, 2009

Dear BerkShares Businesses,

Sunday’s Washington Post (see below) had an article about the launch of the
Brixton Pound in one of the poorest regions of London. The article credits
BerkShares with inspiring the Brixton Pound and that means crediting you and
all the participating banks and merchants for setting the template for use
of a local currency.

We are delighted by the Brixton Pound. The Berkshires have an image as an
idyllic region, wealthy, without economic struggles. We all know that is
not true and that all our small businesses are challenged in this economic
climate. But Brixton is recognizably a pocket of economic struggle within
London. The use of a local currency by the community to take charge of
their own financial futures helps expands an understanding of how a currency
can be used.

Again, thank you for your pioneering participation with BerkShares that is
setting an example of how a business community can pull together to support
each other by circulating its wealth locally.

Best wishes,
The BerkShares Team
P. O. Box 125
Gt. Barrington, MA 01230
413 528 1737
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/26/AR2009092602
427.html

When Going Gets Tough, Local Currency Gets Going

By Karla Adam
Special to the Washington Post
Sunday, September 27, 2009

LONDON -- Throughout Britain, people are hanging on to their hard-earned
pounds, scrimping and saving as they ride out the recession.

But in a few communities, people are taking a different tack: printing their
own money and spending it. No, the queen's image on the iconic British pound
isn't being counterfeited. Instead, some communities are producing their own
scrips -- some of the latest have painter Vincent van Gogh's face on them --
which can be used much like cash at participating businesses.

The latest community to do so is Brixton, the second area in Britain this
month that introduced its own currency. With an initial run of 40,000 notes
in various denominations, it is the most ambitious project here of its kind
so far.

Sometimes called Britain's Harlem, the Brixton is a multiethnic area in
south London with a large African Caribbean population and a vibrant
atmosphere. The kind of mind-set seen in this bustling and close-knit
community is crucial for any local currency plan to work, say economists,
adding that like any other form of exchange, the success of the Brixton
pound will hinge on the continued confidence and willingness among people to
use it.

The first Brixton pound entered into circulation last week when Christopher
Wellbelove, mayor of Lambeth, the borough that encompasses Brixton, waved a
sepia-toned one-pound note in the air at a town hall meeting where it was
unveiled and used it to buy a box of tomatoes. (He got a good deal, said
many at the scene.)

"It's a modern-day IOU," said Bruce Weber, a London Business School
professor who teaches a course on alternative currencies.

History offers many examples of people developing alternative currencies in
tough times. After the financial meltdown in Argentina in 2001, for
instance, bartering clubs sprung up nationwide. When Germany was hit by
hyperinflation in the early 1920s, many towns issued special money that was
not recognized as legal tender but was widely accepted by businesses.

People can buy Brixton pounds with standard British currency -- a pound for
a pound -- at a half-dozen local outlets. The incentive for consumers,
beyond an altruistic desire to support local businesses, is that many
restaurants and stores will offer a 10 percent discount to people using the
currency. Those businesses, in turn, hope to build customer loyalty. They
will make change for purchases using the Brixton currency to continue its
circulation, though customers can insist on standard British money if they
wish.

"It can stimulate the local economy," Weber said. "It gets done in tightknit
communities where people feel they have a shared stake in things. It's a
response to recession conditions. . . . If we issue a certain kind of
currency amongst ourselves, maybe it keeps someone to do grocery shopping
within the community."

Brixton pounds were launched by Transition Network, an environmental group
that promotes low-carbon living and believes that by promoting local
businesses people will travel less and reduce impact on the environment.
Inspired by the BerkShares currency launched in western Massachusetts three
years ago, Transition Network also has helped launch currencies in the town
of Stroud this month and in Totnes and Lewes earlier.

The British are usually embarrassed to discuss money. But in Brixton, cash
is the talk of the town, with residents curious to know which businesses
will accept the new currency (participants include a local grocer, a
pharmacy and a belly-dance instructor) and which ones will not (a popular
movie theater and cafe.)

Ossie Bash-Taqi, 44, who is accepting the notes at his catering company,
said he has more faith in the Brixton pound than he does in its official
counterpart.

"In a community like this, if you break the chain, you'd have a lot of angry
people. We all know each other, and you can't hide behind an empty bank
counter," he said.

There is no law against using alternative currencies, be they pieces of
paper or beaver pelts or seashells, as long as they are not passed off as
official money. Tax authorities also have no problem with the currencies as
merchants continue to account for all of their trade.

"There is still some apprehension," said Tim Nichols, project manager for
the Brixton pound. "But there's also a lot of buzz, and we're hopeful it
will strengthen the local economy."

Nichols said it cost about $16,000 to have the Brixton pounds printed and to
pay for the public information campaign. Most of that was donated by local
businesses. The notes bear pictures of significant Brixton residents,
including van Gogh, who is said to have lived there in his early 20s, as
well as watermarks and security measures that the organizers hope will
prevent counterfeiting.

Any effect on the greater economy will be "probably nil," said Nick Mayhew,
an expert on the history of currencies at Oxford University. The upshot of
alternative currencies, he said, is mostly increased community spirit.

"It's a constant reminder to shop in Brixton," said Leon Rothera, 28, owner
of a local restaurant called Honest Foods, the first business to sign up for
the new currency. "But let's see what happens when the novelty wears off."