HELPING HOURS

Join The Bank Where Investment Of Kindness Earns Dividends

Kamakshi Khandelwal, XI D &
Jiya Arora, XI C, AIS Gur 43

“Ye bank paise ka nahi, samay ka hisab rakhta hai,” the tour guide announces with a theatrical flair, pointing to a small yet bustling building tucked in the street corner. The sign reads: “Welcome to the Time Bank - where every hour matters.” This is no ordinary place. It’s a community where your time is the most valuable asset, and humanity, not profit - is the bottom line. Welcome to the future of kindness. Welcome to time banking.
Hours hold hearts
Intrigued, a tourist asks, “So, how do you ‘bank’ time? Do people just give their time away?” The guide, clearly used to this reaction, begins. “Well, time banking is a system of bartering various services using labour-time as a unit of account. These ‘labour-time units’ can be exchanged to receive an equal amount of others’ time.  Essentially, you do my work, I do yours. It’s as simple as that.”
A young woman chimes in, “So, are you saying I can trade an hour of teaching yoga for an hour of plumbing lessons? Or, I can get my car fixed in exchange for playing the piano for someone?” “Exactly,” the guide smiles, pointing at people signing in their hours worked, or checking their labour-time balance.  “Almost all of them have different skills, and yet contribute the same amount of work in terms of service. The aim is to integrate our communities and allow people a chance to give back to society.”
Tick Tock terms
“So, how do you calculate how much an hour is worth?” A hand goes up from the crowd. “Is my hour worth more than one who is weaker, or less efficient than me?” “Nope,” the guide answers reassuringly, “Every single hour is worth the same, whether it’s mine, yours, or someone else’s. Whether you teach someone to play the piano, or paint someone’s fence, one hour is one hour in the eyes of The Bank!
Pat comes the next question. “Are there any rules or requirements, or can we just do anything?”
“Any work is welcome,” says the guide, “Teach your grandma’s recipes to someone, or build furniture, whatever you can do is more than enough. But there are five golden principles that are crucial.”
Rule 1: A task is a task, no matter what it is. No hierarchy here, just pure equality. That aunty who helped you carry your grocery bags? Yup, her time is just as valuable as your friend who can read out to a group of toddlers. This challenges conventional market-based economies where certain skills or professions are valued more than others.
Rule 2: Time banking recognises that traditional forms of unpaid work, such as caregiving, volunteering, are valuable contributions to society. Here, one honours what is undervalued or goes unseen.
Rule 3: “Reciprocity,” the guide smiles, “is what matters here. You teach me Spanish today, I fix your wi-fi tomorrow.”
Rule 4: It is about building a network of trust and friendship. The more you help, the more friends you make. If you need a plumber or a sitter, forget Google - just ask your time bank crew.
Rule 5: Time banking doesn’t care if you’re rich or broke. No VIP status here - just respect for what you can give. The bank doesn’t care if you’ve got a trust fund or no funds at all.
Cashing in consideration
Coming to a stop in a decorated nook of the corridor, the guide encourages the enthusiastic group to read the engraving providing a history of time banking: “Time Banking, with roots in the 19th century labour reform movement, was conceptualised in the 1980s by Edgar Cahn, an American law professor and social justice advocate, to address unfulfilled societal needs, and reward community participation. Cahn envisioned a system that would enable individuals to exchange services and build community connections using time as a currency. He believed that everyone has valuable skills and talents to offer, regardless of their financial status, and that time banking could create a more inclusive and equitable society.”
“You should also know that the labour-time units differ according to where you are,” adds the guide.
During the Industrial Revolution, the American anarchist Josiah Warren opened in 1827 a time store in Cincinnati. Goods were offered in exchange for the amount of time that it took to produce them. In 1832, the Welsh social reformer Robert Owen issued labour notes. Comparable to bank notes, they represented the value of units of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 hours of labour. This money is not issued by a central bank, but institutions like savings banks, municipalities or local private organisations.
Worldwide welfare
The next stop is in front of a world map marking all the countries that offer time banking. “Don’t be surprised to learn that over 30 countries offer their citizens this opportunity,” the guide says, “some examples are Senegal, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Argentina, Israel, Greece and Spain. In fact, there are 300 time banks in 40 US states and 300 throughout the UK.”
The guide walks on, pointing at the board, “Time coins can be exchanged for credits people can tap at an appropriate time in the future. For instance, 10,000 time coins can be moved into public pension institutions. India too offers youngsters a chance to serve their elders by loaning their time.”
The crowd is, by now, fully enthralled, and everyone queues up to sign the visitors’ books. What a day it was - filled with gratitude and a valuable lesson in learning how to serve.