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Greater Manchester's
LETSgo Project

At LETSgo Manchester we are continuing our programme of development and demonstration work, leading towards the "second wave" of LETSystem activity.

We are working to establish clear frameworks, together with materials, that empower people to start their own LETSystems and, if they wish, to participate in operations and development work. For those who wish to provide services which support trading activity (LETSystem Registry services are one example), we have training and documentation available.

Backup is available in the areas of legal safeguards, risk analysis, the sales approach to businesses, technology etc.

During the first phase of the project we provided training for over 40 people - from as far away as Denmark and Holland. Some have become central project staff or have started projects in their home regions, others have become "outworkers", yet others have used their participation in the project to move on to other jobs and have even started up new businesses.

The gmLETSystem has been established as a regional LETSystem, together with a supporting Registry which enables multiLETS.

We have entered a second phase of the project where we are taking on board the numerous lessons learned during the first phase. (If you don't try it, you don't get the opportunity to learn!) This experience is being incorporated in the materials currently in preparation.

We have a core staff of six with others working remotely (outside the region). We work in partnership with others who share our approach to LETSystem development and welcome the opportunity to "work-net" through LETS-CONNECT.

Angus Soutar

A full report and prospectus is now in preparation. For details, contact
LETSgo Manchester
23 New Mount Street,
Manchester, M4 4DE
Phone 0161 953 4115.
E-mail: rsl@letsgo.u-net.com

Anti-Poverty ACTION

A working party, with a grant from the Rowntree Foundation has been set up to prepare a report on how LETS can be utilised to combat poverty. The team is made up of Perry Walker (New Economics Foundation), Helen Barnes (benefits advisor), Liz Shephard (Letslink UK) and Peter North. Some of their major topics of discussion have been the issue of whether LETS units are indeed "local money", and looking at how DSS benefits relate to LETS.

Dictionary Definition

The Oxford English Dictionary are about to include a definition of LETS and have been in consultation with various members of the LETS community regarding an acceptable entry.
Through the process we have ascertained the first use in print of the word LETS to be 24th Feb 1983 in the North Island Advertiser, Vancouver Island and possibly a few weeks earlier in a Nanaimo paper (the same journalist worked for both papers).
The entry is yet to be finalised but the preferred definition to date is;
"A self-regulating economic network, operating as a system of accounts, which allows its users, (individuals, businesses etc.) to issue their own currency".

Rural LETS

Over the summer vacation second year university student Daniel Hurford has been carying out a project for Menter Powys assessing the potential contribution of LETS to a rural region such as Mid-Wales.
The project was initiated by South-Powys LETS asking Powys County Council for the funding for a LETS Development officer in the county. With a growing membership covering 900 miles promotion/development was getting rather stretched.
In respose to their request the County Council proposed a feasibility project, but this was rejected by the LETS groups on the grounds that LETS was clearly feasible due to its existance and growth in Powys over the past few years.

LETS Connect at Home | Contents Listing | Previous Page | That's all folks

Last Revised 06 January 1996 by Nigel Stewart