Forward With Transition Town Totnes: Devon’s License To Print Money
AH Devon, the picturesque home to Dartmoor, the Jurassic coast, Exeter cathedral and the wilful printing of counterfeit money? Surely not! Well, yes actually. Kind of.
The sleepy Devon town of Totnes has indeed been printing its own money in the form of three hundred £1 notes, according the Mirror. But before you get on the phone to Crimewatch, these notes are nothing more than fake bills which can only be used to buy goods in 18 local shops, rather like book tokens.
The brainchild of the fascistic sounding Transition Town Totnes, a local group set up to nurture a more self-sufficient community, the notes feature a copy of a locally issued note (from 1810) on one side and a list of participating outlets on the other.
The ‘money’ was given away at a public meeting and the experiment has been so successful that plans are afoot to print 3,000 more.
Organiser Marjana Kos is delighted with the results. Says she: “It’s keeping local trade alive and supporting local business.” Local Rob Hopkins adds: “Totnes used to issue its own money. One day in the future the town might have its own currency again.”
The Totnes independence struggle starts here.
Posted: 6th, June 2007 | In: Strange But True Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
