Get your ownFree Home PageLETS stands for Local Employment and Trading System, although sometimes the "E" stands for Exchange or Economy, the word "and" might not be in there, y'know, minor variations.
Mainly, it's a barter system designed to boost the economy of a community, help the budget of the individual, and keep local wealth and resources from draining out of a given area.
The first one was started in a one-industry town in western Canada. When that one industry pulled out, the local economy collapsed. Their LETS helped pull them out of disaster.
Since then, other LETSystems have been started in towns and cities across Canada, the USA, England, Australia and New Zealand. Some of them have become huge.
I spent five years living in Muskoka, a rural district about a two-hour drive north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Muskoka has always been hopelessly dependant on the tourism industry. In the winter months, they have a 40% unemployment rate. I started Muskoka LETS hoping that I could help the local economy become more self-sustaining.
Perhaps it could have worked if the tourism industry had suddenly pulled out of Muskoka. As it is, everyone in the district is completely focused on frantically acquiring enough tourist dollars in the summer months that they'll be able to barely survive the rest of the year. They're just not interested in trying something new.
They're not generally happy with the way that things are, but they're used to it.
All the same, the LETS concept is a good one, with an excellent success rate. Just not in Muskoka.
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