Time banking takes off in Northland

Opua resident Charlotte Boss said time banking is a great way for the community to share skills. Photo / Jenny Ling

Getting around in small Far North towns when you don't have a driver's licence isn't always easy.

There's no abundance of public transport, no trams or trains, and only a couple of flights per day from Kaitāia Airport to Auckland.

That doesn't faze Kaitāia resident Anna Dunford, who relies on a local time-banking network to get to areas too far to walk or cycle.

So when the town's only taxi driver died there were plenty of others who could get her from A to B.

"For a while in Kaitāia there was no taxi after he died," she said.

"We had some elderly members who were completely stuck and were relying on other time bankers to take them to the doctor and the bank and things. It's a brilliant system, it adds some flexibility."

Increasing numbers of people are turning to time banking as an alternative currency to cold, hard cash.

The system involves someone volunteering their time to another, then using the credits to receive services.

Members of time-banking groups share skills like cooking, sewing, gardening, child minding, transport, wood stacking and computer help - all without exchanging a cent.

Tai Tokerau Timebank regional co-ordinator Anna Dunford [left] and Te Hiku co-ordinator Paula Walker help each other through the time banking system. Photo / Supplied

Dunford, a freelance administrator, has been a member for six years and became the regional co-ordinator for Tai Tokerau Timebank this year.

Services she offers are administration, decluttering, gardening and sewing.

In return she has received several pairs of hand-knitted socks, clothing alterations, gardening help and had her laptop fixed.

"It's great for taking a trailer-load of green waste to the dump or picking up boxes from the printer. To do that without a car would have been a nightmare.

"I've also used it for sharpening gardening tools. Instead of finding a tradie and paying them, I just put a message out."

In time-banking currency, one hour's work equals one time credit.

Each person has a profile on the members-only website stating what they have to offer, with their requests.

Once set up, people are free to engage with as few or as many exchanges as they like, with hours recorded on their profile.

Di Maxwell's Kaikohe property got a spruce up during a recent working bee. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's first time bank was established in Lyttelton in 2005.

It kicked off in Kaitāia in 2009 after residents John Kenderdine and Rebecca Ranum attended a Living Economies seminar and returned home inspired.

The Kaitāia branch has become so successful it recently relaunched as Tai Tokerau Timebank to include the rest of the region.

Tai Tokerau Timebank currently has 230 members and is the only group north of Auckland, with members as far away as Waipū.

There is now Paula Walker co-ordinating time banking in Te Hiku, Charlotte Boss taking care of Bay of Islands-Whangaroa, and Di Maxwell overseeing Kaikohe and Hokianga.

Dunford recently put in funding for someone to establish a dedicated time bank in Whangārei.

About 20 people turned out to Maxwell's house in Kaikohe to help her weed her substantial garden in October.

The working bee saw people travel from as far as Kaitāia and Kawakawa to help while earning themselves time credits.

Maxwell joined in 2014 after finishing her postgraduate degree in Sustainable Leadership at the University of Cumbria.

People from all backgrounds - retired, working, professional and unemployed - use the currency, she said.

"It's especially great for older people.

"Like a woman on her own that can't get on to the roof to clean out the gutters but she's capable of doing child minding or cooking. It's just a way of getting things done. It's a great system."

The world's first official time bank was started in Japan in 1973 by Teruko Mizushima, but time-based currency exchanges date back to the early 19th century.

American legal professor Edgar Cahn helped popularise the idea in 1980 when he created "time dollars".

Cahn - a speech writer to Robert F. Kennedy - saw time banking as a way to restore community, and to recognise and reward civic engagement.

Charlotte Boss believes everyone's time is valuable and everyone has something to share. Photo / Jenny Ling

There are now more than 800 time banks across 34 countries, according to Timebanks New Zealand.

Not only do they promote community development, they help underprivileged members of society, giving ex-convicts, addicts and juvenile offenders another chance to prove themselves.

Maxwell said it's also a great way to get jobs done when there's not a lot of money in the community.

"It gets all levels of the community integrating and getting to know each other. And it bridges cultural and socio-economic divides, it develops a better understanding among people. It's building up community cohesion that's sadly lacking these days."

Tai Tokerau Timebank members have taken part in thousands of exchanges since it started. This year there have been 864 exchanges, up from 696 last year.

Co-founder John Kenderdine, who lives at Lake Ngatu, north of Kaitāia, said most people are "still stuck in the old way of thinking of exchange and goods and services in terms of money".

Time banking is a way to complement the money-dominated world, the 78-year-old said.

"The present financial system has to crash sometime, when who knows ... this is one tool we've got to circumvent it. Every problem on the planet has, as its base root cause, something to do with the financial banking system."

For Opua resident Charlotte Boss, time banking in Northland makes perfect sense.

Boss was appointed co-ordinator for the Bay of Islands - Whangaroa region in September.

There are 45 members in the group and they're "growing every week", she said.

Boss teaches people how to use sourdough starters to bake bread, offers to dog-sit and drives people to appointments in Paihia.

She recently got help with solar design for her house "which is amazing because for me, to pay someone for that, it would have been unattainable".

Organisations like the Paihia Repair Cafe have also joined, meaning volunteers can accrue time credits in exchange for their work.

"Giving your time is a gift," Boss said.

"Even though you're giving it away it's nice to be recognised for it.

"We all have bills to pay and we need money for that, but it's a really good alternative for a lot of things we can trade between ourselves.

"For me it's a first port of call when I think of something I need. It makes me think of my neighbours and how we can support each other. It's what makes Northland such a special place to live."