I recently read about a great idea, which has been implemented in the UK over the last few years, called Time banking.

Here’s a summary of the article:

Have you always wanted to give something back to your community through volunteering but simply haven’t got the time to spare? Or would you perhaps like to learn a new skill but find that lack of time or money is barring your way? In both these cases time banking could be the answer.

Time banking is a simple yet ingenious form of volunteering where time is the currency. People deposit credit in a time bank by donating their time to help others and withdraw time credits when they need help themselves. A time bank member might donate an hour of their time to, say, help an elderly person with their shopping, in exchange for an hour long French lesson from someone else. Or a member may earn a Reiki session in exchange for fixing someone’s computer.

Time banks are a proven method to harness the skills and time of the people in a local area. They offer a unique and practical way to help people develop the mutual networks of support that underpin healthy communities.

So time banking builds community and creates reciprocal form of volunteering and may therefore well be worth implementing in South Africa.

Does anyone know if there are any similar initiatives in South Africa?

Here is the UK website: http://www.timebanking.org

Here is an summary video showing an example community:

Written By: Dale Holroyd, Bedfordshire, UK