There are hundreds of timebanks all over the world and thousands of people are discovering how rewarding it is to introduce a bit of give and take back into their lives. Timebanking is a tried and tested way to build community, to support neighbourliness and encourage people to be more active citizens.

At a timebank everyone’s time is valued equally; one hour of sharing skills or looking out for others is rewarded with one timebanking hour, a community loyalty point. The timebanking hours can then be spent, when needed, on support from other local people.

The system is flexible and safe and you can join in when you want to. Before you know it, you will have a new circle of friends around you that you can rely on and trust and that is capable of changing things for the better for everyone

Up until now timebanking has grown through word of mouth and through community groups and organisations setting up time banks, often involving large numbers of people. This guide is an invitation to you and your friends and neighbours to try out neighbourhood timebanking for yourselves. It will be entirely up to you whether you keep it ‘small and beautiful’ or expand into a more ‘formal and powerful’ timebank. We suggest that you can easily run a time bank for up to 30 local people; if you want to grow any larger then it is sensible to set up a more formalised timebank.

Whatever you decide, we are here to help you and please use this guide as your starting point.