• humans and big clock
    Business,  COMMUNITY,  Community Investment,  Human Interest,  Money

    What Are Time Banks? What You Need to Know About Service-Based Currency

    Have you ever wished services were paid in a currency other than cash? Time banks offer an interesting solution that takes “time is money” seriously. This relationship model can create a harmonious environment as long as it’s done correctly. How Time Banks Work Think of time banking as giving out human dollars. Instead of monetizing services, it operates on equal-value exchanges and is highly focused on the minutes spent doing them. For example, you mow someone’s lawn for an hour. The time spent turns into credit under their account. They can use it to redeem assistance from you. Time banking is similar to holding favors for one another since it focuses on…

  • BUILDING,  Business,  Community Investment,  Community Readiness,  Go Electric,  Housing,  Preparedness

    100% Carbon Free, Climate Resilient Living

    This is the future of the grid happening right here in Vermont Imagine living in a home that’s all-electric, fossil fuel-free, and is fully storm-resilient. That’s the reality for the 155 families who will move to Hillside East in South Burlington, Vermont. This is a first for that state– a whole neighborhood that is resistant to power outages thanks to a Resiliency Package of in-home Tesla Powerwall batteries for seamless backup power, rooftop solar panels to recharge, and extend the batteries’ backup capability, and a neighborhood microgrid for extra backup power as needed. O’Brien Brothers, a Vermont-grown property development company for over six decades, turned to Green Mountain Power when…

  • BUILDING,  COMMUNITY,  Community Investment,  Community Projects,  Construction

    Turning a Brown Field Green

    The land at NE 82nd and Siskiyou has a checkered past. It is a former landfill, capped in 1982. Many of those living and working in the Madison South and Roseway neighborhoods have seen this area attract unwanted activities and attention. The site has remained derelict, despite its tremendous potential for the neighborhood, city and region. The Dharma Rain Zen Center, a Soto Zen Buddhist temple, sees great potential in the Siskiyou property for a new campus that is sustainable, beautiful and benefits their congregation and the neighborhood alike. They plan to create an attractive, compatible, low-impact campus that serves the community. They will: Restore the 14-acre parcel to a…