Ecosimia
ECOSIMIA (until 2006: SINTRAL ) with the Spanish meaning "EL ECOSISTEMA ES RESPONSABILIDAD MIA" (German: "The ecosystem is my responsibility") is a local exchange and trading system ( LETS ) and describes an alternative economic structure in Ecuador .
In 1992 , within the Fundación Educativa Pestalozzi (an alternative school project in Tumbaco , Ecuador), the first SINTRAL store in Ecuador based on the Canadian LETS system was created. The ECOSIMIA network is used for trading without an official currency and is currently already active in 13 provinces of Ecuador.
The transactions within a group are given a numerical value and recorded on checks . A carbon copy of these checks goes to the local bank, which forms the group's "social memory". The numerical value has a purely statistical meaning: there is no debt and it is not possible to ask for an "equivalent" to this number. The transactions at the country level are discussed directly between the groups.
Since the beginning of 2000 , the economic situation of most people in Ecuador has worsened drastically with the introduction of the US dollar as the national currency. During this crisis, Mauricio Wild (the co-founder of the Active School of the Fundación Educativa Pestalozzi ) made the decision to set up (SINTRAL) groups across the country that could trade with one another in a decentralized network. These groups spread mainly in rural areas of Ecuador. Today there are already around 140 ECOSIMIA groups across the country.
Web links
- Exchange ring page for ECOSIMIA
- SWISSAID supports ECOSIMIA
- Scientific investigation: Oliver Quijano Valencia, 2012