BerkShares (www.berkshares.org) are a local currency for the Southern Berkshire region of Massachusetts. They were issued on September 29, 2006 by BerkShares, Inc. in cooperation with the E. F. Schumacher Society and the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. BerkShares are exchanged for federal dollars at participating regional banks and circulate at a wide variety of local businesses. View television coverage of BerkShares by clicking here, and other international, national, and regional news coverage by clicking here.
Widely used in the United States in the early 1900s, local currencies are a legal, but underutilized tool for citizens to support local economies. Local currencies function on a regional scale the same way that national currencies have functioned on a national scale—building the regional economy by creating a protective “membrane” that is defined by the currency itself. Local businesses that accept the currency are distinguished from chain stores that do not, building greater affinity between citizens of the region and their local merchants. Individuals choosing to use the currency make a conscious commitment to buy locally first, taking personal responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their community, laying the foundation of a truly vibrant, thriving local economy.
Deli Dollars, a single store scrip issued in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1989 with help of E. F. Schumacher Society staff, drew national media to the Berkshire region (view videos of news coverage here) and helped renew public interest in local currencies as a tool for community economic revitalization.
(Deli Dollars designed by Martha Shaw)
The theory, history, and practice of the Schumacher Society's work with local currencies is detailed in Local Currencies: Catalysts for Sustainable Regional Economies. Additionally, Bob Swann, founder of the E. F. Schumacher society, wrote several clear, compelling essays on local currencies, which can be found here.
In June of 2004 the E.F. Schumacher Society convened the conference: Local Currencies in the 21st Century. The conference report and UTNE Reader online article provide details on this landmark event which Pete Seeger described as "the best conference he had ever attended."
Reference materials for creating a local currency:
Transcribed lectures from the "Local Currencies in the 21st Century" conference:
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