What is time banking?

WHAT IS A TIME BANK?

A time bank is a community-based system of mutual aid where members exchange services using time, not money, as currency but rather time service credits.

The principle is simple and egalitarian: one hour of your time equals one hour of someone else's time, regardless of the service provided.

Time banks thrive on diverse membership, with people of all ages and backgrounds contributing. You don’t need professional skills—just a willingness to give and receive help. In fact, some of the most valuable offerings are simple: listening, cooking a meal, or checking in on a neighbour.

HOW IT WORKS?

While the concept may sound new, it's rooted in age-old values: neighbourliness, mutual support, dignity, and reciprocity. Time banking offers a modern, structured way to live those values out—while reducing isolation and increasing resilience in our communities. Time banking creates value, access, and dignity through community cooperation. A time bank assists by:

Contributing Your Skills or Time

You offer a service that. you enjoy or are skilled at—perhaps gardening, sewing, transportation, tutoring, or simply providing companionship.

Earning Time Service Credits

Four every hour you spend helping someone, you earn one "time credit". This is recorded in the time bank's system.

Spending Your Time Service Credits

You can use your credits to request services from others in the network. 

For instance, you might use your earned time to get help with home repairs, attend a fitness class, or receive computer lessons.

TIME BANKING INTRINSIC VALUE-ADDS

Most people in poverty have skills — cooking, fixing, caring, teaching — but they don’t have money to trade with, since it unlocks hidden value with a community. There are many value-adds that can be realized using a time bank, below are some of the important ones:

A Time Bank lets community members:

Earn credits for their time

Exchange skills they already have

Feel useful and valued, even without cash

People contribute and receive without needing money.

Provides Basic Needs Without Cash

Instead of paying  money for:

Childcare

Transport

Tutoring

Meals, etc.

People can use time service credits to get these services. Reduces daily expenses and dependency on handouts.

Builds Community Support

Poverty is isolating. Time Banks connect people:

Neighbours help each other

Elders, youth, unemployed all take part

Trust and safety grow

Stronger networks mean more help, job referrals, and emotional support.

Teaches New Skills & Confidence

As people help and get helped, they:

Learn new things (skills, teamwork, planning)

Gain confidence and purpose

Become more active in their community

They become more employable, empowered, and visible.

Reduces Dependency on Government or Charity

Instead of just receiving aid (e.g. SASSA, food parcels, etc.), Time Banking helps people:

Give back

Be part of the solution

Create a local economy based on dignity and fairness

It shifts from survival to participation and empowerment

SCENARIOS

Consider a typical money-based scenario:

• Person A requires a task to be performed (e.g., car maintenance, cleaning services, gardening, etc.).
• Person A is going to use the money he received outside his community to pay for the task.
• Person B lives in the same community as Person A
• Person A approaches Person B.
• Person B agrees to perform the task for a fee which includes skills, time, and materials.
• Person A contracts Person B to complete the task.
• Once the task is completed, Person A pays Person B the agreed-upon fee.
• Person B takes the fee, which has become an income, and uses it to purchase goods outside or inside the community and pay for services required from Person C, who may live outside or inside the community.

The time banking concept differs from the above, since it allows for a way to incorporate the services within a community, which has other benefits.

Now, consider a time banking scenario:

• Person A requires a task to be performed (e.g., car maintenance, cleaning services, gardening, etc.).
• Person A uses accumulated time service credits, which he has earned with the      community) to pay for the task.
• Person B lives in the same community as Person A
• Person A approaches Person B.
• Person B agrees to perform the task for a time service credit fee which includes skills, time, and materials.
• Person A contracts Person B to complete the task.
• Once the task is completed, Person A pays Person B the agreed-upon time service credit fee.
• Person B takes the time service credit fee, which has become an income, and uses it to inside the community. This reutilization of the time service credits within, allow for a community wealth, employment, growth to occur.

Person A and B's spending decisions can significantly impact the economic, social, and developmental aspects of the community.

WHAT IS “COMMUNITY WEALTH”?

It’s not just about cash, who has it, who does not, personal wealth, etc.

True community wealth includes:

Skills and talents people can share

Support systems that reduce dependence

Local exchange that keeps value within the community

Trust, pride, and belonging

Time banking creates, builds, and sustains communities by:

Activates Hidden Skills

Everyone has something to offer — but many feel left out of the economy.

• Time Banking values all contributions: cooking, tutoring, fixing, caring.
• This activates the “wealth” of people who are jobless or overlooked.

More people contributing = more value circulating.

Keeps Resources in the Community

Instead of paying outsiders (e.g., big businesses or faraway services), people trade with each other.

• A neighbour helps fix your roof in exchange for cooking lessons.
• A young person babysits and earns time service credits for tutoring.

Wealth stays local, not lost to cash systems.

Reduces Dependency on Money

People often can’t afford services they need — but they have time.

• Time Banking removes money as a barrier.
• You can earn what you need by helping others.

Access to more services = stronger households.

Strengthens Social Bonds

Wealth isn’t just what you have — it’s who you can count on.

• Time Banks build trust, friendship, and cooperation.
• These connections form a safety net in hard times.

Communities become more resilient and self-reliant.

Boosts Confidence and Skill Development

As people participate, they:

• Learn new things
• Gain confidence
• Discover their value

Increased human capital — a real form of community wealth.

Supports Youth, Elders, Beggars, Vagrants and Vulnerable Groups

Time Banking:

• Gives elders meaningful roles
• Keeps youth involved and mentored
• Helps single parents, disabled, or unemployed feel empowered

No one is left behind — everyone adds to the community’s strength.

Lays Groundwork for Cooperative Economies

Time Banks can evolve into:

• Tool-sharing groups
• Food co-ops
• Local businesses
• Community credit systems

The seed of Time Banking grows into a thriving local economy.

Time Banking turns time, care, and trust into wealth — for everyone.