How does the Community Exchange System work?

The object of the Community Exchange System (CES) is to facilitate trade without using our conventional national currencies, and build a sense of community at the same time. By 'trade' we mean the normal economic activity of selling goods and providing services by 'producers', 'sellers' or 'providers', and the purchase of these by 'buyers', 'customers', 'clients', 'patients', 'consumers', etc. The CES serves two basic functions: it is an online money and banking system it is a 'marketplace' where people sell goods and services Although the CES is internet-based it also works for those who do not have computers. Each user gets an account number and a password, and this gives them access to their account on the CES web site. The site works like a true on-line banking service. Participants can view their current balances and obtain statements of account. They can also keep track of the trading position of others. Goods and services are advertised on the web site through an 'Offerings List'. Participants look through this list, or do a search, and if they find anything they want they contact the seller who then provides the goods or service. Payment is effected through a Trading Slip which serves both as a means of payment and a receipt for the goods or service. The information on the Trading Slip is entered by the seller into a transacation form on the web site. This credits the account of the seller and debits that of the buyer. Accounts record these debits and credits, giving a balance after each transaction. Those without computers can interface with the system through 'branches' where everything is done manually and information is available on paper. To ensure that unscrupulous buyers do not exploit the system, details of each user's overall trading position are available to all. General trading statistics are also available to show how much trading is taking place. The web site also provides all the information needed to contact other participants. There is also a 'Wants List' where participants can advertise for goods and services they require. Trading in this system requires no supply of money, either by the community as a whole or by each participant. Instead of using a 'hard' currency, which then has to be allocated according to some formula, the currency of this system is the pure recording of the values exchanged in trade. Money in this system is thus created at the trading interface and is recorded as credits for sellers and debits for buyers. There are CES exchanges in a number of countries around the world. Each exchange has its own currency but members of one exchange can trade with members of other exchanges, making CES currencies as versatile as our conventional currencies. The local currencies are units of measure rather than tradable commodities like conventional currencies. However, to make these currencies meaningful to users, their value is based on the national currencies. This is purely to give them reference. They are in no way tied to the national currencies and will deviate from them over time. There are no rules for pricing in the CES. The 'law' of supply and demand prevails. However, within the context of the CES, certain services that otherwise would not be highly valued, might increase in value because of their relative shortage. Other services that outside the CES are expensive might be cheaper in the CES because the provider wishes to attract custom.

How the CES Works (short version)

How the CES Works (short version)

Two games of football

In football, as it is with many other games, the objective is to score more goals than the opposing side. There are different ways of playing football. Here are two:

Game 1 - the conventional money system In this first game of football the goals have to exist and you have to have a supply of them before you can play the game. You have to borrow the goals from a goal bank, which means that you have to return them later. And since you are making use of the noble services of the goal bank you have to pay them a fee in goals for borrowing their precious goals. This is called interest. How large that fee is depends on how long you take to return the goals. This is quite legitimate for while you are using the goals the real owner of them is denied the pleasure of using them. Who created these goals we dont know, but as they have to be borrowed they must have been created, and if they were created then there must be a supply of them. A supply implies a finite number of them, for if there was an infinite supply they would be pretty worthless and the teams wouldnt need to borrow any. When your team goes out onto the field it has a supply of goals which it can use to pay the penalties the other team will demand if they should get the ball into your net. If your team manages to get the ball into the other sides net they owe you one of their supply of goals. The scoreboard is a reminder of how many goals the teams owe each other at the end of the game. If both sides score the same number of goals then everything is square and neither side owes the other any goals. If there is an imbalance in scores, however, then the side that has the lower score must hand over to the other side as many goals as the difference between their respective scores. The object of football is to come away from the game with more goals than the other side, so that ones own side has more goals in the kitty than there were before the game started. This is so that the goals can be returned to the goal bank together with the fees the goal bank is demanding for borrowing them. No one has yet worked out where the extra goals come from for both sides to pay their respective borrowing fees to the goal bank (the interest). Perhaps if everyone just plays better they will win so many goals that there will be enough to return the borrowed goals as well as pay the fees. On the other hand, perhaps the goal bank can lend some more goals to the teams in shortfall? Game 2 - the CES In this game of football goals are scored when a player manages to get the ball into the net without the goalie preventing it. Thats much the same as the normal game of football (soccer). As goals do not exist there is no need to create them, and if something isnt created then there cant be a supply of them. It follows that if something doesnt exist you cant borrow it. That is absurd. The goals are just a count (score) of how many times the ball went into the net. When a goal is scored, the side that got the ball into the other sides net gets one point. This point is put up on the scoreboard as a reminder to the other side that they need to play harder in order to level the scores to prevent the other side winning. Thus it could be said that the side that scores a goal gets +1 points for doing that and the other side gets -1 points. When the side with -1 scores a goal it gets +1 points and that brings its score back to 0. The other side gets -1 points and that subtracted from the +1 they already have also brings their score back to 0. The scores are levelled and neither side is winning. The side that ends up with a positive number of goals is the winner. Thats the end of the game and the winner goes home with the trophy and keeps it until the next match.

An Example of a Trade Back

Requirement: Your car needs an oil change. Step 1: You either look through the Offerings List or do a search to see if anyone is offering oil changes or car maintenance. Someone is offering oil changes for T80 but you must bring your own oil and oil filter. Step2: In the Offerings List you click on the person's name to obtain contact details. You phone the person (the 'seller') and agree on a time and place for the oil change. Step 3: The oil change takes place and then you (the 'buyer') fill in a Trading Slip (obtainable from the site), giving the date, your name, your account number, the amount (T80) and your signature. You fill in the same details on the counterfoil and get the seller to sign it. The counterfoil is then separated from the slip and you hand the main part to the seller, keeping the counterfoil for yourself. For the seller your Trading Slip represents your payment and your acknowledgement of the service or goods delivered; for you the counterfoil is your record of payment. Step 4: You leave, satisfied that your car has fresh oil. The seller then goes to a computer and enters the details of the trade into the transaction form of his or her CES 'bank account'. This becomes a credit for the seller and a debit for you. You are now obliged to provide goods and services to the community worth T80. Here are some of the advantages of the using the Community Exchange System It provides another stream of income It bridges the 'money gap' between the skills/offers/talents/gifts of sellers on the one hand and the wants/needs/requirements of buyers on the other. Conventional money usually can't bridge this gap because its supply is limited or non-existent. It builds community CES 'money' is abundant and can never be in short supply CES 'money' can never be in oversupply and cause inflation It is democratic: it returns 'money power' to the people It allocates credit democratically It eliminates usury. Its money is 'free' (i.e. interest free) It keeps wealth where it is created It eliminates cheating, theft and fraud (of money) It provides a support network It eliminates the problem of sellers not being paid for what they supply It reconciles the accounts of buyers and sellers immediately It promotes honesty because one can never 'run out of money' It levels the playing field: everyone starts from zero and those who deliver real value to others are the ones who get 'rich', not those who deliver nothing but acquire their wealth by manipulating the currency It gives local suppliers preference It eliminates the waste of transporting goods from all over because its focus is local It destroys the notion that the source of money is a job: the source of money is the delivery of value from one entity (person, company etc.) to another It streamlines transactions and eliminates wasted effort (e.g. sending accounts, debt collecting) It mobilizes the real wealth of a community: The knowledge and skills of its people is the real wealth of a community It fosters self-reliance and self esteem It fosters social justice and equality And many, many more... Back

Offerings Questions and Answers

Q. What are offerings? Offerings are what you have for sale, what you are going to sell or - another way of putting it what you are going to provide to the community of traders in the CES so that you may have access to what they are providing. Q. Can I offer both goods and services? Yes, you can offer goods as well as services. You can offer anything that other traders will buy, the same as if you were trading in the conventional economy. You have even more scope in the CES because you can offer the kinds of services that wouldn't be viable in the 'other' economy. Examples are companionship, personal assistance, advice, support, training etc. Of course you cannot offer things that do not make sense in a small, closed community, e.g. astronaut, ship builder, airline pilot etc! Q. I have nothing to offer! This is a very common first reaction! Registering with the CES will help you realise that you do have things to offer and that you can be useful to others. Whether you are skilled or not, your time, energy or resources will be of value to someone. A few examples are shopping, answering the phone, dog walking, cooking, cleaning, gardening, child care, car lifts, home equipment or tool hire, to name a few. Start by asking yourself what you really enjoy doing, or sit down with a friend and tell each other what you are good at. Take a look at the Inspiration List below and have a look at the demonstration site to get ideas. You will probably surprise yourself when you begin to think about it! Q. Can I offer what I do at work? You can offer absolutely anything you like, but always ask yourself if there will be demand for what you are offering in a small, closed community. If what you do at work is highly specialised then you are not likely to find many takers in the CES. It is not good enough to put down what you do in your professional life and then later say it didn't work for you because no one ever came to you. If no one comes to you then there is obviously no demand for what you are offering. If you have to steal time from your employer then it is probably not a good idea to offer what you do at work. There are many other things to offer. But if you really think others will respond to what you normally do for a living, then by all means offer it. Q. How do I price my offerings? In exactly the same way as you would price them in the conventional economy! Price your goods and services in the national currency and then convert that into the currency of your exchange at a 1:1 ratio. This can be a fixed price or a rate per hour/day etc. If you can't think of a price then put 'Negotiable' or 'Various' or 'Contact me'. If you want to attract custom quickly then reduce your price. When you have registered and you get your account number and password, access the site and check what others are charging for offerings similar to yours. If you find that you get too much custom too suddenly then raise your prices! If no one comes to you then probably your prices are too high. Q. Can I quote prices in the national currency? No, not on their own but you may include a component in the national currency. Many traders quote CES currency for the labour and national currency for parts or materials. CES-currencyonly offerings are preferred and you might find it difficult to sell your wares or services if you quote a national currency component. Many traders feel uneasy about asking for payment in CES currency when they have had to lay out national currency. But remember, you get that national currency back by having more CES currency to spend on things that you would normally pay national currency for. The more you get involved in the CES the more comfortable you will feel about being paid in CES currency even when you have spent national currency. Q. How many offerings can I have?

The registration form only has space for three offerings but when you get your account details you can add as many more as you like. You can also put the same offering under different categories and advertise on other exchanges anywhere in the world. Q. How do I describe my offerings? Use a terse, descriptive offering title that makes it immediately clear to others what you are offering. In the Details field you can use as many words as you like to describe your offering. Think of your offerings as your personal advertisements. If your description is poor, people will skip over your offering and choose someone else with a better description. Convince us why your goods and services are the best, why you are the best person to receive them from and why we cannot live without what you have to offer! If you are selling goods describe it/them in detail; if you are offering a service tell us something about your experience and what we will gain from having you provide it. Q. Can I change my existing offerings and delete old ones? Yes. Your offerings are fully editable. You can change the title, the description, the price and keywords that help others search for your offerings. You can also delete your offerings if they are no longer relevant. Q. How long do my offerings last for? You can determine how long your offerings will display for. You can select anything from one week to one year, which is the longest an offering will remain on the Offerings List without modification. You can also continuously update your offerings so that they remain on the list forever. Updating also 'refreshes' your offerings bringing them to the top of the list where most people will see them. Q. Can I have pictures of my offerings? Yes. When you access your account you can add additional offerings and upload pictures at the same time. Pictures can replace many words and draw attention to your offerings. Inspiration List Use the list below to get some idea of what you can offer. This is not a complete list; it is just meant to provide some inspiration. Also have a look at the demonstration site and, of course, you will be able to see what others are offering once you access your account and look at the Offerings List. Services Assistance Goods

Painting Handyman services Plastering, tiling Electrical repairs Car washing & cleaning Car repairs Bicycle repairs Photocopying Photography Printing Carpentry Heating, cooling Information searching Secretarial services Plumbing Gardening House sitting Writing, editing, proofreading Disc jockey

Answering the phone Shopping for others Child care/babysitting Frail care Dog walking Pet feeding/sitting Fetching/posting mail Delivering/collecting parcels/letters Writing letters Reading stories, storytelling Car lifts Fetching/taking children to school

Bicycles Clothing Shoes Tools Furniture Curtains, carpets, cushions Magazines Books Toys, dolls etc. Bedding Electrical appliances Computers and peripherals Paintings Garage junk! Jewellery Electronic gadgets CDs Software

Event organising Window cleaning Laundry Sewing Knitting Cooking, baking General labour Graphic design Web sites Programming Health care Therapies Medical services
Hiring/renting Food

Kitchen utensils

Advice & Tuition

Workshop tools Garden tools & equipment Your computer Camping equipment Sports equipment Swimming/diving gear Musical equipment Event venues Accommodation Video equipment Garage Marquee Bed/bedding Truck, car Bicycle

Breads Cakes, buscuits, buns etc. Cooked meals Frozen meals Preserves, pickles, jams Pies, quiches, tarts Garden vegetables Drinks Herbs & spices Fruit Snacks Salads Eggs Meat Cereals

Parental advice Relationship advice Bicycle riding Surfing Singing Musical instruments Gardening advice Colour and style advice Legal advice Energy saving Extra lessons Dancing Public speaking Art, drawing Crafts

Formacin dentro de Attac sobre Moneda Social: http://www.ces.org.za/index_es.asp Recopilacin de colectivos (este trabajo en parte ya est hecho, desde Autogestin y desde el Foro Alternativo de Desarrollo Sostenible). Proponer fecha de encuentro. Viernes 27 de enero.?? Publicitacin del encuentro a travs de panfletillos. Posibles charlas y debates a travs de Centro de Estudios 15M.