THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

more human contact, more communication, more getting to know
each other than before.' He did not have a single reply.
Puzzled by this lack of response, he decided to visit all the houses
in person. The mystery was cleared up immediately: nobody thought
they had something to offer in the Exchange. They all thought that
the activities involved in the Exchange would be like normal
commercial transactions. For instance, an accountant who loves to
hunt for mushrooms at weekends had not thought that other people
might be interested in learning- about mush- rooms. A retired person
who had lived ten years in Europe never thought of exchanging her
knowledge of the area for something she might need.
There is quite a difference between the normal commercial yellow
pages and the PEN Directory. Lots of goods and services are offered
for trade in the PEN Directory for which people wouldn't be
spending US dollars. Also, many of these listings are for things that
people like to do for the fun of it. This is Fun work, not boring jobs.
As a consequence, something else happens in Takoma Park. It turns
out that the complementary currency and the directory are just the oil
to lubricate the imagination, an excuse to make the first contacts.
Most actual exchanges use the complementary currency only for part
of the transaction, sometimes not at all, and involve exchanges that
weren't even thought of as items to be listed initially in the directory.
Gradually, neighbours get into the habit of Just helping each other
out as gifts, without any currency exchange. Notice that, as Olafs
purpose was to reconnect people, such an evolution is a positive sign.
The Washington Post discovered the story. It quoted Mary
Rodriguez, 89, who has lived in Takoma Park for over 40 years, and
has never seen anything like it. 'There are so many neighbourhoods
where you never get to know the people next to you. Here the
neighbours do things for one another. It gives a small-town feel.'