BACE Timebank groups are really mini timebanks within BACE Timebank. In March 2024, BACE Timebank and some of our newest members helped to create five new timebanks: Advocacy & Justice, Amateur Radio Operators (Hams), Building Business Communities, Pet Care, and Writers. Members first join BACE Timebank, and then they can join a mini timebank to do exchanges with members in that group. Membership in a mini timebanks doesn’t interfere with members’ use of the larger, BACE Timebank.
Learning
New Member Launches Hams Timebank
Building community is one of the principles of timebanking. BACE members create community by creating mini timebanks within BACE Timebank. In March 2024, a new member of the BACE Timebank created a timebank for amateur radio operators or hams. Radio operators/hams build community every time they get on the air. Our newest member says, “They may share knowledge and skills for emergency preparedness, resiliency in business communications, and general survival skills training. If you listen to “The Morning Coffee Break net” you’ll hear ham-folks who just want to share anything useful under the sun.” He adds that they “are over 700,000+ strong hams in the United States alone, and Japan has over 1.2 million hams active on the air.”
New in 2024: Timebanking in Jamestown, CA
BACE Timebank is expanding into Tuolumne County by pilot testing timebanking in a small mobile home community in the mountains of Jamestown, a historical Gold Rush town and landmark since 1949. It is three square miles, has 3423 residents (2010 Census), and 40% of residents live in rental housing. If you know someone living there or nearby, tell them that BACE Timebank is up and running in Tuolumne County!
Timebank Hobby & Non-commercial Skills
Timebanks operate within a capitalist democracy, so we all need to keep our day job. We want people to share their skills joyfully, and that may be harder to do when sharing a commercial skill and receiving time instead of money. If you feel frustrated or lacking when you get paid in time instead of money, rethink the skills that you’re timebanking. Timebankers who want to showcase an unusual talent, consider offering an introductory service. For example, one member offers a 1-card reading (check our divinity category) through the timebank; if you want a full reading, she’ll direct you to her commercial website.
We each have skills beyond those that earn us dollars. If you earn a living as a space planner, then consider timebanking some skill other than space planning. If you fix bicycles for a living, you might consider timebanking advice on bike buying advice.
(Photo credit: Worm That Turned, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
A Call for Resources
At a time when many people are expressing lack–lack of work, sundries, hand sanitizer, or a good haircut–I’m surprised to hear people say “….timebanking is a nice idea, but that’s not how the real world works.” Why not? Maybe social distancing rules prevent you from your job at a salon, but you can build your clientele by offering pointers on how to trim those mops in exchange for hours of credit. When you go back to work who will they come to for a proper cut? Earn hours: Do you know of someone offering free resources in the Bay Area? Email us the contact information so we can list it on our Resources page, and you’ll receive 0.5 hour time credit for each resource you identify.
