Some
Stories from LETS Members...
Chris, a painter and
decorator, earned 1300 LETS (1/5th of his turnover) last
year. He said LETS was invaluable whenever money was
tight, and also attracted work paid for in hard
cash.
He was selling his
house, and had all the plumbing, electrical rewiring,
central heating and carpentry done on LETS.
LETS also enabled
his wife Sue to take a part time job. She used
childminding, which is much more affordable on LETS than
normal childminding rates and allowed her to work
part-time.
They also had
low-cost holidays in a cottage in Wales on LETS.
How to swap
husbands on LETS!? When Chris's wife Sue wanted him to
do some decorating at home, he couldn't bring himself to
do at home what he did at work every day. So Sue asked
Bill, Chris's painting and decorating partner, to come
in and do the job for her on Lets. And in return, Chris
did the decorating for Bill's wife Celia!
Daniel
Johnson of West Wilts LETS is both brawn and brain
at The Orchard School, Bradford on Avon, and is a great
LETS enthusiast.
With the help of
LETS he started the small independent school in 1992. It
now has over 63 pupils.
Daniel says 'LETS
has been useful at every stage of getting the school
together. It paid for electrical and plumbing work and
is also used in part payment of the teachers' salaries.
LETS has also made
it affordable for some parents to send their children to
the school, paying part of the fees in LETS. It's
great!'.
Jenny was
working as a nurse but injured her back lifting
patients. She had to wait for 6 months lying on her
back, for treatment on the NHS, and when it came it
actually made the condition worse. Then she discovered
that osteopathy (for which she could not afford the cash
cost for regular treatment) was available on LETS. After
seeing the osteopath regularly through LETS she was able
to go back to work again, and repaid her LETS account by
doing babysitting and selling unwanted clothes.
David: "I
had been working abroad for several years. When I came
back to England, things had changed a great deal for the
worse. I knew no-one, and the place where I was staying
was unfriendly and expensive. I couldn't afford a car,
which meant I was stuck, and without contacts I just
couldn't find a job. It was all looking very bleak. Old
friends had moved on, or were too busy in their work to
see me.
Then I heard about
LETS, and joined.
Within a few weeks
I had discovered a whole network of friends - like a
family with 100 members! The first thing I did was have
a haircut on Lets. They invited me to stay for a meal,
and it turned out that the guy did painting and
decorating, and needed help occasionally. I got some
work through him to tide me over. The woman did sales
work, and she was willing to take my cards around to
various shops. I paid her commission in Lets, and the
shops brought in orders for my work. Next, I bought a
car for 100 LETS; the LETS mechanic has kept it on the
road for the last 9 months and I've started teaching
again."
LETS enabled
Barbara and her husband to feed the family. He
worked all hours in the Health Service, but took home
very low wages. Barbara had babysitters on LETS,
allowing her to work in the evenings and build up a
small sales business. Barbara earned LETS by lending out
her car and giving massages.
They bought most of
their food, including regular home-made meals and goats
milk (one of their children was allergic to cows milk)
for LETS. "We now depend on LETS for our food. The
scheme is absolutely marvellous. Without it, we
literally couldn't afford to eat."
They also had the
LETS Garden Gang in to do everything their garden
needed. The members of the Gang were:
Sara, a young
woman who wanted to learn all about gardening;
Mike, an out of
work builder's mate;
David, a
retired teacher living alone and suffering from
depression;
Paul, a graphic
designer who was looking for healthy activity out of the
office.
They thoroughly
enjoyed working together clearing the garden, and were
given lunch with soup, bread and cakes supplied on LETS.
Bob, a
quantity surveyor, was unemployed and hard up. He
provided home insulation, energy-saving advice and
gardening. His partner Di offered home brew, Caribbean
cookery, the hire of a bike with child seat and a
powerful lawnmower.
Bob said LETS was
far more useful for helping him to develop his skills
than any government training scheme. They spent their
LETS on babysitting and holidays. LETS gave them the
opportunity to get out of the house, and a break from
the children - which, they say, eased a big strain on
their relationship: "it's really saved our marriage".
Bob did gardening
for Doris, an OAP who became very enthusiastic
about his regular visits; he provided her with company
as well as additional handywork. She repaid the scheme
by babysitting, cake making and pet minding. Doris, who
was previously very isolated, became a grannie to the
family. "Its a wonderful thing - the scheme has
completely transformed my life."
Sue gave
driving lessons to Beth. Beth needed to start
driving as she was able to begin a career, as LETS child
minding was available to allow her to do a regular
part-time job.
Mary was
making cruelty-free skincare products at home, and
selling them to friends and people who came to her for
reflexology on LETS. This allowed her to do market
testing of her products. A year later she was running a
stall most weekends at all kinds of events. Then her
husband was made redundant. They went into business
together, without having to take out a bank loan, and
are now supplying shops throughout the county with
Mary's oils, creams, shampoos and lotions.
Clare runs a
parent link support group through LETS. It enables
parents to meet and support each other practically (eg
sharing toys, books and child care) and with ideas on
childrearing, discipline, ways of handling teenage
difficulties and improving communication within
families.
Arthur, a
pensioner had to go to hospital for weekly treatments,
and the ambulance or volunteer hospital car service had
been cut. The taxi fare was putting a severe strain on
his pension. LETS enabled him to arrange regular
transport with a near neighbour, who was lonely and had
plenty of time to give him the lifts. In time they
became firm friends, and she stopped asking for LETS
credits from him. A relationship of care and trust had
developed, and both their lives were enriched.
Peter:
"Perhaps I owe my life to LETS. I was unemployed and
distressed after my divorce. Pills from the doctor
couldn't lift my depression and I was thinking about
ending it all. In desperation I rang the surgery, but
no-one could see me for at least a week. I would then
have to pay for a course of counselling, but I had no
money whatsoever. But I had joined LETS: the
acupuncturist on LETS could see me immediately - and
finance was no problem. The treatment calmed me and
lifted my spirits. I saw the acupuncturist over a number
of weeks, and it began to change my outlook. I've now
started a self-help group, supporting others going
through similar crises."
Lucy tried
making papier mache pots, bowls and lampshades. She was
shy about her efforts but a friend liked them and
encouraged her to make some for the Lets market. She
made her first sales on a LETS stall, which gave her
confidence to produce more. Now she has had an
exhibition, and has taken a number of commissions to
produce Christmas gifts.
Penny liked
making clothes, and wanted to make each item individual.
As an artistic person she did not want to go into mass
production, or even be committed to running a part-time
business. She was very happy to produce a small number
of special clothes on LETS - and her customers were
happy, as they couldn't afford the cost of tailor-made
designer clothes otherwise.
Here are a few more stories from satisfied LETS
members:
Jo is a
single mum. She says all her family's clothing now comes
through Lets, and she also gets all the traditional
"male jobs" done in the house (car maintenance,
woodcutting and carpentry). She's planning to take
lessons in some of these too, as tuition is available on
the scheme. Their Christmas would have been very bleak
without Lets, but the children were given handmade toys,
and other family members pottery, jewellery and candles.
Annie: "As
an artist I'm often asked to do posters, which I don't
like doing. When I was asked to do a poster for LETS,
something felt different. I did a good poster and got
paid for it. I felt valued and therefore I gave in a
different way. LETS can be great fun and improve self
esteem."
Jilly: " I
asked Leslie to help design a garden. Leslie supplied
the plants using her expert knowledge for their best
locations. I'm very pleased with my plants and all the
help Leslie gave me".
A
few more Quotes...
Geoff " You feel a lot better about
yourself when your community asks for things you like to
do... LETS acts as a catalyst by reconnecting
individuals with their fellow community members."
Lawrie "
Just about every time I trade through LETS I get to meet
someone personally. I've got to know an extra 100-150
people in this way. To me, that wealth of relationships
in the community is synonymous with economic
well-being."
Joy " It
really gives you a sense of community spirit - because
every time you buy something, you're not only getting
something you like, but you're improving someone else's
situation. LETS has made my existence quite a bit easier
by allowing me to fit my skills and time of working
around my busy schedule."
More Quotes...
"Everybody has
currency, in that everyone has something to offer. This
could be ironing, childminding, haircutting, giving
lessons, or hiring out something."
"The wonderful
thing about LETS is that it gives "work" which is often
undervalued in the conventional economic system, a
completely new meaning. It encourages ingenuity,
creativity, and self-reliance... it recognises skills
which the normal market-place does not value."
"It really
stimulates the art and craft market - people can afford
to commission things they would never dream of usually.
The possibilities are mind-boggling!"
"People who
exchange on LETS come to have a whole new experience of
work, and come to their transactions with a sense of
kindness and fun. To know it you have to experience it!"
"It fosters an
active and supportive community, uses otherwise dormant
skills, encourages businesses in the face of recession,
and keeps money local."
"Instead of being
stymied by high levels of unemployment, people have
another route to use their talents and potential for
economic activity in their everyday
lives." |
