June 2014 – May 2016
Budget
80.865,70 Euro
Funder
The NGO Romanian fund – the Volunteer component
Through this project we wanted to help build people’s confidence in their future, to reduce their level of vulnerability and dependence on economic factors, and we supported them in trusting their own skills and abilities, as well as the skills and abilities of people around them. We developed a program consisting of an online platform that offers users the possibility to exchange services. The innovative side of the program is the fact that within the system no money are being used, the only unit of measurement used is time: one hour= 1 time point. Prior to the actual launch of the platform, we held 60 community meetings, after which we conducted a market research to identify people’s needs and the manner in which such a program could meet their needs. The research was conducted on a sample of 500 people. Since launching the platform in July 2015 over 200 members have registered, in the country and abroad, and we organized three meetings between the Time Bank members. However, we believe that this program is not unusual, as our ancestors have practiced barter since ancient times. Among the services available on the Time Bank platform we name the following: physical work, agriculture, domestic work (cooking, baking, cleanliness, pet walking) babysitting, education, training, intellectual services (counselling, translations, design), transport services, culture, leisure and entertainment.
” „This program was very close to my heart, because I was part of its development since the first idea. The implementation period brought me great joy, as we were all witnessing how our dream was shaping up day-to-day. Compared to other projects, even the administrative part was friendly.” The best memory I have is related to the moment I became a member of the Time Bank. For a long time I wanted to learn how to play the piano, and through the platform, I met a teacher. It was the moment when I realized that as soon as you have the courage to take that step forward dreams come true I am grateful to my colleague, Kis Zoltan. We worked very well together in this project and we made a great team. We used to say that he is the head of the projects, while I am the heart.”
Kulcsár Orsolya Project Manager
