Lesson sheet · Module 6 # Alternatives to money — mutual credit, time banks, local currencies, gifts ## The aim of the lesson > **Every alternative is good as long as the benefit comes from the exchange itself, not from recruiting new participants. Ask: where does the benefit come from?** - 👧 Child: secrets about money are told to a grown-up. - 🧑 Teenager: helping is good; "pay to profit from others" is not. - 🧔 Adult: - clear rules and a register; - the taxes remain; - no "guaranteed" returns; - the "can I leave?" test. **Your step in Pecuvo:** (1) Create a space called "Swaps and gifts" — record what you give and receive, as a euro equivalent (for clarity, not for payment). (2) Set a goal of "one hour for the community each month" or "one thing to swap". (3) Write in a note which register you check before you join a group. ## The topic (chapters of the module) 1. Chapter 1 · Three ways to exchange value 2. Chapter 2 · Swapping (barter) and why it is hard 3. Chapter 3 · Mutual credit: WIR and Sardex 4. Chapter 4 · Time banks 5. Chapter 5 · Local currencies — and the honest story of the Bristol Pound 6. Chapter 6 · Gifts and communities 7. Chapter 7 · The law and taxes: a swap is also a transaction 8. Chapter 8 · When the "alternative" is a trap ## For the youngest · ages 6–7 🐣 **The youngest:** You can give something in three ways. You can give it as a present, swap it or sell it. You can also give time — one hour of help. Grandma helps you with your letters, and you help her in the garden. That is a swap too. **Play together (5 minutes):** Make "help tickets" out of paper: "one game together", "watering the flowers". The child gives or swaps a ticket with someone in the family. Then tell each other how it felt. **A question for the evening:** "What can you give someone that is not money?" ## Questions for the class — 3 per level - 👧 1. What are the three ways to exchange value? 2. Why is it hard to swap a pear for an apple? 3. What do you do if someone secretly asks you for money? - 🧑 1. What is a time bank? 2. Why is barter hard? 3. How is a real community different from a pyramid scheme? - 🧔 1. What is mutual credit, and what are its limits? 2. What lesson does the Bristol Pound teach? 3. Why can a swap also be taxable? ## A 45-minute plan - **5 min:** The question for the evening or one from “Check yourself” — what do the pupils think? No right or wrong answers. - **15 min:** One or two chapters of the module at the level of the class (the “child · teenager · adult” buttons on the page). - **10 min:** The game or the calculator for the topic — in pairs or on the board. - **10 min:** The questions for the class. If you like, the open test — everyone writes down only their code. - **5 min:** The iron principle in the pupils' own words and one small step for home. ## Tools for the lesson - [The whole module on the website](https://pecuvo.eu/en/modules/alternatives-to-money/) pecuvo.eu/en/modules/alternatives-to-money/ - [The open test (9 questions) — pupils write down only their code (e.g. K4B11), no names; the class distribution is shown on the same page](https://pecuvo.eu/en/test/) pecuvo.eu/en/test/ - [The Glossary — terms explained simply](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/) pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/ No personal data of pupils. Children under 14 — with a teacher or a parent. Do not compare individual pupils. Knowledge, not financial advice. The sheets may be freely printed and copied for lessons, clubs and families, with the source pecuvo.eu. They may not be sold.