[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRVCNYOMEeM]

Thursday saw the launch of the Brixton Pound, a local currency for the London suburb. The B£ is being promoted as “money that sticks to Brixton”, aiming to support and sustain local business and production. The B£1 B£5, B£10, B£20 notes have the faces of home-grown celebs on the front, including civil rights activist Olive Morris and Vincent Van Gogh, as voted for by locals. Shoppers will benefit from special offers amongst the participating independent businesses. The project was established by Transition Town Brixton, an organisation campaigning for sustainable, community living. Totnes in Devon, Lewes in Sussex and Stroud in Gloucester have also introduced local currencies and there are 166 worldwide. The Brixton Pound is part of the anti-capitalist shift towards ‘common-cause economics’, in which individuals take into account the community interest as well as their own.

Source

Thanks to Ellie Osbourne for this story. Ellie is just lovely.

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