History

History of Time Banking: Time banking is a modern version of the age old (and also very modern) practice of bartering. The key difference is that, in bartering, two people discover that they can provide a service for each other and set up an exchange between them. Time banking allows an individual to provide a service, earn Time Dollars™ (TD$) and then spend the TD$ on a desired service that anyone else in the network provides.

The roots of Time Banking extend back to the creation of Time Dollars™ in 1980 when Dr. Edgar S. Cahn, co-founder of the National Legal Services Program, author of "Our Brother’s Keeper," and founder of the Antioch School of Law, suffered a massive heart attack. He was 46. Recuperating in the hospital and “feeling useless,” he dreamed up Time Dollars as a new currency to provide a solution to massive cuts in government spending on social welfare. If there was not going to be enough of the old money to fix all the problems facing our country and our society, Edgar reasoned, why not make a new kind of money to pay people for what needs to be done? Time Dollars value everyone’s contributions equally. One hour equals one service credit. (www.timebanks.org - About Us –
History and Structure)