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ID-18-2 User reports. December 11th, 1985
User reports.
I am a single mother with three pre-school children; my monthly
income is from social assistance. The LETSystem has made my
existence quite a bit easier by allowing me to fit my skills and
time of working around my busy schedule. A lot of the
traditional "male" jobs I need done about my house (car
maintenance, wood gathering, carpentry) I am able to get for
green dollars; or I could learn myself, as lessons in all of
these are available as well.
Without this system our Christmas would have been very bleak.
The children were given handcrafted toys, and other family
members were given pottery, jewelry, and candles. All of my and
my children's clothing now comes through LETS. We get some of
our food through LETS.
I feel that I am valued in the community for the work that I
provide. I like to have my small children exposed to this
alternate monetary system; they now check out if goods are
available for green or federal dollars. I have met many new
people through the LETSystem and feel that our sense of community
in the Comox Valley has greatly increased. I have also found
that people have skills which they haven't used or thought about
in years, and it is all being drawn out and interest re-kindled.
People have started to value themselves differently and come
alive.
Joy Dryburgh
LETS is a very welcome addition to the economy of the Comox
Valley and region. It reflects people's ability to meet each
others needs regardless of the current state of the economy. Its
value lies in its separation from the monetary system. We, as a
family, have found employment and "purchased" goods and services
of a wide variety - employment being readily available when there
was none locally and "purchases" that would not have been possible
for a cash outlay. The LETSystem is a very positive addition to
the area and its further expansion opens up unlimited
possibilities.
Barbara Hopkinson
B.A.,M.A. Topwn & Reg.Planning,
Univ. of Sheffield, England
Landsman Community Services Ltd. ID-18-2 Page 1
ID-18-2 User reports. December 11th, 1985
The LETSystem has been a great help to me, enabling me to
purchase things I would not otherwise have been able to afford.
I have used the system for everything from paying rent to
furnishing a house. I have not had a lot of employment in the
past year so LETS has really helped to subsidize my income. I
have used it to purchase food and my winter's supply of firewood.
I have no trouble making green dollars in the system. I am a
carpenter by trade and find that people who couldn't otherwise
afford to have work done are glad to employ me for green dollars.
One employer who couldn't afford to pay me my usual hourly rate
was able to pay me part green and part federal dollars.
I think the system is great and would really encourage people to
participate.
Charles Turner
Living on a tight budget I've always felt I had to do everything
by myself or it would have to go undone. I was especially
pressed every spring when fisherman spouse went off for the
summer season leaving a large yard, garden, house and 2 young
preschoolers in my charge. Last spring should have been the
worst ever - a new excavation leaving the backyqard a riot of
disturbed rocks and clay. By joining LETS I was able to hire one
person to dig the garden and two persons to landscape the
backyard - what fun it was for me to work with others. I solved
a problem, met and interacted with new people, and felt a new
sense of wholeness and community.
The quality and variety of work LETS members offer to do is
inspirational. I've bought down mittens, edible mushrooms, lamp
shqades made to order, firewood; had the windows washed, children
cared for, haircuts; been on a field trip identifying local
edible plants and taken T'ai Chi lessons, to mention a few.
To hold up my end of the account, I hosted a LETS garage sale,
paid $25/month federal towards office rent, cared for children,
and made frozen casseroles to order. My husband traded some of
his salmon catch.
To feel active in a creatively interacting community has been a
wonderful experience. My image of self-worth has increased -
trust and respect of others growing accordingly. The largest
gift of all has been the relief through the realization that even
though the general economy is in a recession, my family is alive
and functioning with a flair.
Margaret Pattison
Landsman Community Services Ltd. ID-18-2 Page 2
ID-18-2 User reports. December 11th, 1985
I joined the LETSystem in December l983 and, for one month, was
totally inactive. I was genuinely afraid of committing myself to
spending green dollars without "having" any first; and, as a
mother of two young children, I doubted my ability to generate
any. What could I do ? I talked to many members of the
LETSystem during this time and gradually realized that I and my
family had all that was required to operate successfully - we had
"spare" time which we were wasting on TV and we had "spare"
things which were going unused.
Once I realized that, the trading began. We danced, received
help through family counselling (my husband's teenage daughter
came to live with us and we all are making adjustments to each
other). We ate perogies. At the same time I traded off a lot of
baby equipment (which is so dear to buy new, but difficult to
resell).
Most importantly, I began to do some writing for the LETSystem -
in those quiet moments during children's naps or after supper.
This restored in me the realization that I am a capable and
creative person, and that I do have the ability to contribute to
my community. This is beyond any dollar value.
Paulette
Landsman Community Services Ltd. ID-18-2 Page 3
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