Greetings and welcome back to ReFi Generation! Thank you listeners for your patience, after I got married last year, I took a break for a bit. Have no fear, we are back at it and will be releasing episodes regularly again!
Today we talk local currency with Chris Hewitt, founder of Hudson Valley Current.
We discuss the nuanced topic of money, and why local currencies matter. If you live in the United States, or a country with a fairly stable monetary policy, it may not matter much to you. However, there are a lot of folks who do not have access to a stable form of money. Many see inflation destroying their savings, as well as monetary policies affecting their lives in which they have no control over. Our hope is that today’s episode will give you some context for the important reasons for having a localized, community focussed money. It is important to note, local currencies do not have to replace the standard currency, they can be complimentary.
Our guest Chris has a background in publishing - starting in 1996 he ran “Express Magazine: Social networking for global change,” and shipped to over 22 states and 5 Canadian provinces.
Chris started the local currency, “The Current” because of his need to account for his barter agreements with local businesses advertising in “Express Magazine.” He shares how The Current developed over the years, it’s successes, as well as the hurdles he faced in the adoption of The Current.
Chris and I have a fun philosophical conversation around “What is money.” Chris brings a lot of insight into how to launch local currencies, specifically how to educate and open a dialogue about what is money. “It’s just money” is their slogan.
Our listeners should note, to be considered “money,” there are 3 widely agreed upon criteria it should have. First is a medium of exchange, second is a store of Value, and the third is that it is a unit of account. The Current meets all three of these criteria.
Chris had a great insight and he stopped trying to teach people about money, and instead Chris builds mechanisms where people can learn by doing. Now, when people ask what is the Current, he does not try to explain what money is, he instead describes the features of the local currency.
#1. The hyper-local aspect of the Current allows people to trust each other.
#2 It shifts the narrative around money.
#3 It is innovative.
#4 it saves people money.
Chris is a big advocate for regenerative economies, specifically cradle to grave and circular economy principles. Their non-profit, Tilda’s kitchen,is also a market, so they can have direct control over localized supply chains.
Chris tells us about his experience leading a workshop in Belgium at the Collaborative Finance conference. He shares with us how they covered hybridized local currency models, the commons, and ways to explain local currency.
I love the work that Chris is doing in the Hudson River Valley, he was a real joy to talk with. I hope you enjoy.
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