Barter Loom

What does it measure?

  • The level of partnership and the density of collaboration networks among organizations and citizens. It identifies and quantifies reciprocity and the exchange of knowledge or services within a community ecosystem.

The Insight

  • It generates a visual "weave" (loom) that represents community interconnectedness. Through the time-check booklets, an auditable record of hours given and received is obtained. This allows for monitoring the sustainability of alliances and demonstrates that a neighborhood’s wealth also resides in the shared time and talents of its inhabitants.

How is it applied?

  • It operates based on the logic of a Time Bank, where the "currency" is productive time. Organizations exchange symbolic "time checks" to collaborate on shared tasks. These exchanges are physically mapped on a panel where each actor uses colored yarns to connect their organization with those they have partnered with, literally weaving a collaborative network in real time.

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