Berkshares: Boosting the local economy with a local currency

The Agri-Tourist, My Journey Back to Agriculture

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I have been doing a lot of local traveling, really digging into the northeast US where my agriculture focus seems to be currently taking me. I visited a bean festival at a farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts (MA), located in the southern part of the Berkshires. The Berkshires or Berkshire County is located in Western Massachusetts, with New York State very close to the west, Connecticut to the south, and Vermont to the north.

Before going to the festival I met a friend for lunch at the Berkshire Food Coop and explored the downtown area of Great Barrington, MA. Kind of fell in love with the vibe of the whole area - the energy, the outdoor air, the agriculture focus….everything about it. Of course I grabbed a few brochures related to farming and local businesses and came across something called Berkshares…a local Currency Program. BerkShares is the best-known contemporary example of a place-based currency. They have over 300 participating locally-owned and community-minded businesses that support Berkshares to keep money circulating in the region, thereby contributing to a greater local multiplier effect. My marketing and business development mind immediately recognized what a brilliant marketing and loyalty program that this currency program really is.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Jared Spears, the Marketing Director of Berkshares. Berkshares is a program that came out of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. They work to envision the elements of a just and regenerative global economy, undertake to apply these elements in the Berkshires; and develop the educational programs to share the results more broadly, thus encouraging replication.

Stay tuned for an interesting history on how the Berkshares local currency initiative got started and transformed out of some previous programs including Deli Dollars and Berkshire Farm Preserve Notes. Jared provided me with a good understanding of the local economics that contributed to the launch of this local currency. Enjoy my conversation with Jared Spears.

Berkshares
Berkshire Community Land Trust
Farmstead for Farmers Initiative
Schumacher Center for new economics

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