HV Current Livelihood: Coming Soon
by Brogan O’Donnell
The Hudson Valley Current will
present its Livelihood section in the May 2014 issue of Country Wisdom News, highlighting how basic needs and essential
services can be met on a local level. Through attaining food, shelter,
clothing, health, education and entertainment on a community scale, a strong
and vibrant economy can begin to develop. The implementation of a local
currency acts as an overarching umbrella for locally minded efforts by creating
connections between community members, businesses, institutions and nonprofit
organizations.
The Livelihood section will
present stories about the abundance of our local communities. This exciting new
insert will be covering the thoughts and ideas of Current users and community
members. Performing in-depth interviews will not only allow the readers to
understand more about the Current, but it will also serve as a promotional tool
for the specific user. Additionally, there will be a consistently updated list
of all Current users. A significant element The Hudson Valley Current offers to
their users is marketing support, which will be regularly exhibited within the Livelihood
section.
Livelihood will also include
an education section, providing the insights and thoughts produced by writers,
academics and theorists. Since local currencies have been established in
hundreds of various locations around the globe, there is a plethora of useful
texts and documentaries that are well worth exploring. The Livelihood section
will also have a comic strip that will cover economic issues with a bit of
humor.
The Hudson Valley Current is
laying the groundwork for a vibrant local economy through establishing a local complementary
currency (the Current), backed entirely by the labor, products and services of
community members. One Current is valued at one US Dollar because we all know
what a dollar can buy. Exchanging Currents on a local level guarantees that the
currency circulates within the community, as opposed to dollars that can be
sucked out of communities to corporate headquarters and foreign factories.
To allow for easily
accessible trading of this currency, The Hudson Valley Current developed an online
Marketplace. In addition to hosting electronic transactions, the online Marketplace
also enables businesses to promote themselves through developing and updating
individualized profiles. Additional design and marketing support is also
continuously offered by the staff of the Hudson Valley Current.
Since its beta test launch
in November 2013, the Hudson Valley Current has been used primarily for
businesses to business transactions. However, as the pool of users continues to
grow, the next phase of the Current will be the development of a business to
individual component. As of now, the opportunities for trading continue to
expand. Below, you can find some trades suggested by The Hudson Valley Current
Team:
Food: Three farms are signed
up for the Current, and two of them offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA),
so consider spending Currents on a CSA share.
Clothing: Locally made
clothing is a great way to keep warm or to add that fashionable accent to an
outfit.
Automotive: Use your
Currents to fix your car.
Health Care: Take a look at
the Marketplace to find medical doctors and holistic health practitioners.
Marketing: Hire a local
designer to create a logo or advertisement for you that can be used in at least
five local publications that accept Currents.
Nonprofits: Make a donation
to one of the nonprofit organizations that are signed up to the Current in
order to support a good cause with your local currency.
And the list of who to spend
Currents with goes on and on. Visit hudsonvalleycurrent.org to view the 46 ads
in the Marketplace, or sign up as a member to view the profiles of all 87
business members. You will also see this list next month in the Livelihood
section of Country Wisdom News.
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 11:57 AM.
Filed under
Hudson Valley Current,
Local Economy
.
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