Ozarks Local Currency

We are people living in and around Fayetteville attempting to set up a local currency system. Working names are Ozark Hours, Ozark Bucks, or Hill Bills.

A local currency is an alternative (non-government) currency used in a local area. It may be backed by a commodity, government fiat money, or based on labor hours. We are currently discussing how to set it up.

Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology and Fayetteville Friends Quaker Earthcare Witness Committee sponsored a visit to Fayetteville by Paul Glover, the founder of Ithaca Hours. He spoke with mayor Lioneld Jordan and local business owners. On May 9th he gave a talk about local currency at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. This talk will be shown on Community Access Television, channel 18 cable.

Benefits of Local Currency

  • It promotes green localism. It supports local people, local farming, local products, local services, and local business. Reducing transport is good for the earth.

  • It connects unused resources to unmet needs. We can facilitate exchanges among ourselves without having to earn dollars first.

  • It supports community, and establishes trusting relationships.

  • It provides a defense against the booms and busts and inflation/hyperinflation of government fiat money.

  • Some give moral or ideological reasons for support, e.g. opposition to government control of money or usary or multinational corporations.

For more information, contact Shelly Buonaiuto at goodhelp@cybermesa.com

Discuss this project or ask questions at the Ozarkia Forum.

Test our products/services ad system at Ozarks Exchange.

Ozark Hours Goods/Services Offered Signup form (pdf) - people can "sign up" to accept Ozark Hours and list their offerings.

Ozark Hours Pamphlet(pdf)
An explanation of what we're about plus
some info on Paul Glover's coming visit.

Shelly's Editorial
and outline for short talks.

How Money is Created
There's a reason things are going wrong: Government fiat money. Here's the pdf,

What Has Government
Done to Our Money?

Online book about the history of US money
by Austrian Economist Murray Rothbard.

What is Money?
Classic essay by Frederic Bastiat.

Comparison of Alternative Models
Fiat currency, mutual credit, or commodity-based currency?

Articles from Local Newspapers:
Local Currency by Shelley Buonaiuto
Fayetteville Free Weekly
Group pushes 'Ozark Hours' local currency by Evie Blad
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Useful links:
Local Currency Wikipedia article
Transaction.net Complementary Currencies
Descriptions of systems such as LETS, ROCS,
Ithaca Hours, and Time Dollars.
SmallisBeautiful.org
ReinventingMoney.com
ComplementaryCurrency.org software section
Database of Complementary Currencies Worldwide

Sites of existing local currencies:
Shire Hours, Ithaca Hours, Madison Hours,
Berkshares, Ripplepay.