Wairarapa green trade turns 20

Two decades of community trade were marked with the cutting of a green cake on Saturday, as the Wairarapa Green Dollar Exchange celebrated its 20th birthday.
Doing the honours was Bob Francis, Mayor of Masterton at the time the exchange was established and praised for his encouragement of the group.
The group met to celebrate with a market of 26 stalls at the Wairarapa Community Centre in Dixon Street, Masterton.
Mr Francis said there was a "greater need that organisations like Green Dollars exist".
"There is a growing acceptance that we can't sustain our environment, communities and families with our present way of living," he said.
While the organisation was still thriving nationally and internationally, other branches around New Zealand had shut down.
The number of Green Dollars members has grown 43 per cent since June 2010 to 126, and new members were expected over the weekend.
Mr Sawyer put this growth down to changing economic times, an awareness of the need to live sustainably, and the appointment of a membership support person.
Green Dollar president Hayden McGrail said the idea was "a new way of thinking about money". Mr McGrail explained that the overall Green Dollar balance stays at zero, and members "trade up and trade down" from there.
"You owe the group (or) the group owes you."
New members start with a zero balance, and ideally leave with zero.
"Finding out what people wanted, so they could spend the dollars was just as important as finding out what people had got," Mr McGrail said.
"You've got to be able to trade around to make it successful."
Transactions were completed online. A new initiative involved vouchers named Wais, after the group's website.
These have logos based on Wairarapa scenes.
Values start at one half, equivalent to 50 green dollar cents, and progress to a voucher tradeable for 20 green dollars of goods.