In the age of 10,000 fleur de lis tattoos, a currency alternative
Greg Ensslen printed up $10,000 yesterday in cold, hard, poker chips.
Errr…confused?Not if you have shopped at the Freret Market, one of a growing number of places in the U.S. that is minting its own money. Freret Market Money is currency consisting of custom-made poker chips that can be purchased with cash or a credit card, exchanged for food, art, jewelry or whatever other market goodie your heart desires; and then exchanged back for cash by vendors kind enough to take the sunflower-colored chips.
Ensslen, co-director of the market printed up the new batch of money in preparation for the Freret Festival on April 4. “Last year, the ATM ran out of cash. If the ATM runs out again this year, people will be able to spend market money,” he said.
Exchanging greenbacks for some kind of small plastic disc and that disc for goods is not exactly a new practice — I personally recall pulling greasy, powder-sugar-coated tokens from my change purse as far back as the 1988 Howard County State Fair. Locally, the system has precedents in the wooden Crescents that are used as currency around town at Crescent City Farmers Markets.
Yet even so, it’s a concept that may have just arrived at its time to shine. Especially in New Orleans. In 2005, it became obvious as a breach in a levee that the city could not depend on the federal government for to keep it safe. Fast forward three years to the fall of 2008 and it’s safe to say that the entire country realized that, well, that whole Federal Reserve thing isn’t so secure either.
A local currency is any interest-free tender that is not federally backed and operates parallel to national currency within a particular community. With their community-based character, local currencies take on myriad forms ranging from the token system used in New Orleans markets to other barter or mutual credit system that allow individuals swap goods and services to bank-backed systems where local notes can be exchanged for a discounted amount of federal dollars or commercial goods. As Ensslen puts it, “the credibility of the system resides in anyone who accepts it as a currency that they believe can be exchanged for cash at a later point in time.” Local currency champions say they bolster economies by encouraging people to spend locally and keep wealth re-circulating. In the case of the Crescent City Farmers Market’s coinage, the system allows vendors who typically take cash only to sell to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cardholders.
“We thought it was important that everyone in the community, including EBT cardholders, be able to buy fresh, local foods at the market. The Crescent was a way to cross that digital divide and create access,” said Emily Schweninger, director of research and evaluation for Market Umbrella, the non-profit that runs the Crescent City Farmers Market. Market Umbrella also uses the crescents as a tool to raise funds for community projects. Shoppers are invited to donate to the Crescent Fund when they buy the currency. Once sufficient funds are raised, the organization invites people to propose projects that would benefit the market and the people who shop there. After community members vote on the project they would like most to see, the Crescent Fund is cashed for $500 federal and the moola goes to support the project. Most recently, RUBARB received $500 to take the kids who work at the community bike shop on trips in exchange for holding bike repair workshops at the market.
“The Crescent Fund is a kind of barter,“said Schweninger. “We are not just giving away $500. We are asking for something in exchange; it is backed by the community and for the community.”
These days, interest in such alterna-economies is surging around the country as communities search for creative ways to recession-proof themselves. According to Newsweek, Susan Witt, who directs the nonprofit behind the BerkShares currency in Berkshire County, Mass., “has heard from groups in New York, California and New Jersey, where last year Newark’s city hall asked for advice on potential Newark Bucks.. In Milwaukee, community organizer Sura Faraj has begun working on creating a community currency.
While there is no drive to make Crescents or Freret Market Money viable throughout the whole city, proponents say such a Big Easy Buck would be a boon to the local economy. “Whether it comes in the form of ten thousands fleur de lis tattoos or buying locally, people in the city doing their patriotic duty, said said Andrew Ward, the market’s voluble announcer and a candidate for a PhD in economics at Tulane University.” A local currency would be an even more brilliant way to support the city.” And less irritating then a fleur de lis tattoo.
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