Oswestry and District

LETS

What is LETS?

LETS stands for Local Exchange Trading System. ODLETS covers Oswestry and District, and is open to anyone living in this area. The original idea was pioneered in Canada and is now successfully being used all over the world. It is a system of bartering designed to encourage local talent and initiative, and to increase trade.

LETS is a non-profit making scheme. Trade is in units of local currency, each one being roughly equivalent to £1.00 sterling.

How does it work?

• People and businesses form a club to trade services and goods amongst themselves using a local currency instead of sterling. In ODLETS we use the Oswald.
• A members' directory of skills, goods and resources is circulated regularly.
• Members trade with each other whenever they wish, writing out special cheques in Oswalds to acknowledge a service.
• The cheques are passed on to the accounts administrator who records all transactions and sends out regular statements.
• No interest is charged to those "in debit". No interest is paid to those "in credit".
• A fee (currently 1 Oswald per month) is charged to each account. This covers running the scheme and sending out directories, newsletters, etc.

What can LETS offer me?

• Access to a large selection of goods and services.
• Immediate spending power in Oswalds. There is no penalty for spending before you earn (known as "going into commitment").
• A local network of contacts and the opportunity to meet new people.
• The chance to contribute by doing the things you enjoy most.

How do I join?

There is a small sterling registration fee to cover the cost of printing, postage, etc.

Registration fees are:	Single adult £10
	Household £12
	Concessions £5

Details of your offers and requests will then be included in the next edition of the directory, and you will be issued with an account number and a cheque book.

How do I start trading?

You can start trading as soon as you have received your cheque book and account number.

Use the directory to contact members offering goods or services you wish to purchase, and agree a price in Oswalds. Pay for the completed work using an ODLETS cheque.

Members who wish to purchase goods and services from you will contact you directly. Cheques paid to you should be sent at the end of each month to the Accounts Administrator at the address above.

If you can, attend the regular trading and social meetings, where you can meet fellow members, and bring things to trade.

What can I offer?

Almost anything you can think of! Use the inspiration list below if you run out of ideas. Get help from a friend - someone who knows you well may see your gifts more clearly than you do.

If you're still stuck, try another approach ...

• List 10 things you love doing, whether work-related or not. Then expand any that are a bit vague.
• Mark any items you'd like to share (you'll probably want to keep some to yourself).
• Ask yourself how you really want to spend your time. A painter & decorator may enjoy the work as a full-time occupation, but may not be keen to do the same in LETS. They could choose to give advice, or hire out equipment instead - or do something else entirely.
• Look at your final list, and decide how many Oswalds (& £s) you will accept for each one. Of course, you can always negotiate, but it's good to have a "normal" price to start from.

Categories

Inspiration

The directory shows you what's already on offer through ODLETS. Here are some more Wants and Offers that have been traded on other LETS schemes

Services

accountancy, advice on energy saving, appliance repair, baby-sitting, calligraphy, car maintenance, car radio installation, car sharing, car valeting, carpet cleaning, carpet-laying, children's parties, chimney sweeping, china repairs, clothing repair, cooking, costume making, darning, decorating, diet advice, digging, catering, drawing cartoons, tool sharpening, fabric painting, fencing, framing, French polishing, fruit bottling, furniture making/repair, garden planning, gutters cleared, hairdressing, hedge-laying, help choosing clothes, driving, honorary grannies, aunts, etc., house and/or garden minding, house moving, house cleaning, interior design, labouring, leather work, making shelving, massage, mural painting, nursing, office help, paint stripping, paving, pet sitting, physiotherapy, piano-tuning, plant care during holidays, plastering, plumbing, pointing, pond construction, printing, relief care, research, shopping, spring cleaning, stone walling, storytelling, tax advice, tree surgery, upholstery, waiting for tradesmen, wallpaper stripping, weekly doorstep deliveries, writing CVs

Hiring out

artists' models, attic space, B&B, chainsaws, concrete mixers, crockery, darkrooms, discos, floor sanders, grazing, holiday companions, kilns, lawnmowers, meeting rooms, music practice rooms, musicians, office space, photocopiers, projectors, sewing machines, shredders, trailers, video cameras, workshops

Selling and Teaching

any of the above

This page is donated to ODLETS by Trumphurst Ltd., a local computer software and consultancy company.

Trumphurst Home Page
Copyright (c) 1996-99 Nikki Locke, ODLETS
Permission is granted to distribute over the Internet without charge. ODLETS permission is required (and usually given) to distribute in any other way, including on CD.