Gloucestershire town launches its own currency

Sep 12 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A TOWN will launch its own recession-busting currency today, with its best-known author appearing on the banknotes.

Laurie Lee, who wrote Cider With Rosie, is to appear on the £5 bank note of the new currency called the Stroud Pound.

The project hopes to fend off the recession by keeping money inside the Five Valleys area of Gloucestershire, allowing shoppers to use the notes in participating businesses.

Economist Molly Scott Cato, of the Stroud Proud Co-operative, said: “The aim of the currency is to keep economic value within the local economy, but the link to the local identity is also important.

“What makes Stroud better is that we have a lot of local producers here and we hope there will be a synergy between consumers and producers.”

Laurie Lee was chosen for his “socialist principles” and because of his commitment to the region.

In its guide to the currency, the group explains: “The recession means that we are all facing difficult economic times, but history teaches that when a community works together it can flourish even in the harshest conditions.”

Individuals, businesses and charities wanting to use the Stroud Pound must join a co-operative.

Members can then buy the currency at a rate of one pound per unit in denominations of £1, £5, £10 and £20 at a later date.

One key bonus of the currency is that three per cent of the money exchanged for the vouchers will go to local good causes. The currency will also become invalid after six months to encourage spending.

The prototype banknotes will feature iconic images of the Stroud valleys, including lawnmower inventor Edwin Beard Budding and the Gloucestershire Old Spot pig.

The group was partly inspired by the success of the Chiemgauer currency unit in Germany. Similar currency experiments are underway in Lewes, in Sussex and Totnes, in Devon.