Now socialising...
Please join, add, follow, like (or whatever turns you on) us!
Who are we?
Swan-Hills LETS is one of several LETS which operate in Western Australia. We aim to:
- Develop a socially responsible, self-regulating, economic network.
- Unite the community in which we operate by allowing the issue and management of our own supply of local trading currency - Gumnuts (Gn) - within our system and limited to its members and affiliate systems.
- Encourage, through regular trading sessions, social gatherings and outings a feeling of trust and connection within the community.
- Allow our members to have access to goods and services paid for in a local currency.
- Keep the wealth of the community within our community, through payment of goods and services with our local currency.
New Members Welcome!
We are always looking for new members in the Perth Hills area.
Here is our ApplicationForm 
Here is a Brochure
How to Intertrade with us
If you are part of another LETS system and would like to intertrade with us then here's how it works:
- Have a look through our directory (this directory is current & is extracted from our online offers & requests, only member contact details are hidden)
- Contact us so that we can put you in touch with the relevant member to organise the trade.
- To record the transaction, we will record a trade between our member & our intertrading account in our system.
- Your system will record a corresponding trade between yourself & your system's intertrading account.
Please contact us if you'd like to know more. Please note that we are not in the CES, but we can still intertrade with you!
LETS CONFERENCE 2011
Download the summary report
The LETS National Conference was held from 9th - 11th September, 2011 in Lesmurdie, Perth, Western Australia and was sponsored by SwanHillsLETS, Armadale LETS and Rocky LETS. Approx 50 people attended from WA and the Eastern States, including Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
Everyone had a very enjoyable weekend at the beautiful venue, Anapana, in Lesmurdie. The weather too could not have been better. All was conducive to a very satisfying outcome for all involved with some lively discussions on many LETS issues. These have been recorded in the Book of Proceedings above.
Swan Hills LETS hope to implement some of the conclusions within our own LETSystem in the following months. We look forward to the next National conference to be held in Victoria in 2012. Date TBA.
Recently featured in Grass Roots magazine
As seen on Today Tonight
Not a day goes by without mention of the "global economic downturn", now officially a "recession" here in Australia. There is a huge renewal of interest in ways we can live better on smaller incomes, with perhaps a little more time than we had before. It's a good time to reconnect with your local communities and spread some of your skills around, in return for something you need from other local people.
"Act Local" and support each other.
Today Tonight in Perth have been running a "recession buster" series and featured our LETS System on Friday 24th April.
Watch the video - further down the page.
Are you in the Perth Hills and interested in joining us? There's an application form on this page, alternatively contact us for more information.
If you're not in the Perth Hills and would like to join a LETS System then try the links on this site, or if you have no luck, get in touch and we'll help you out if we can.
What is LETS?
LETS is a Local Exchange Trading System or community currency system which originated, many years ago, in Canada. LETS money (in the case of our system it's called 'gumnuts') is created as mutual credit. Each transaction is recorded as a corresponding credit and debit in the participants' accounts. The quantity of currency issued is thus automatically sufficient and (unlike regular currency) does not depend on the judgment and effort of a central authority (such as the Reserve Bank).
Swan-Hills LETSystem is firmly established in the Darling Ranges and nearby suburban areas. From Morley to Sawyers Valley, and from Pickering Brook to Middle Swan, with a couple of outlying members in Toodyay and Belmont, over 100 member families are offering a wide variety of services and goods over a very wide area and at the same time fostering community connections.
There are, literally, hundreds of LETS groups worldwide, all fostering community spirit. In Australia there are over 80 groups.
To find out about the nitty-gritty of the system visit http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/home.html.
Here are some witty images depicting what LETS is about, and what it is not about:
LETS "is".jpg
LETS "is Not".jpg
Recently featured on Today Tonight
Here it is if you missed it!
This is a flash video, you need to install flash if you want to watch it.
Trading for a Better Community
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We have regular "Trading Days". Often we have a special theme or guest presenter on a special subject. Friendship and opportunities abound.
Many members look forward to these gatherings as a way of building their local network of friends and trading partners.
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Members trade their excess garden produce with eachother - you can't get any more "locally grown" than that.
Any member with internet access can post a forum message on this website advertising their glut of tomatoes or basil, which may only be available for a few days. All members with email will get a message in their inbox, and this is a great way to get rid of those buckets of produce and earn some gumnuts at the same time.
Longer term offers can be advertised in the "Trading Directory" which goes out in the mail about twice a year. (The most up to date directory is always available on this site).
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Natural Therapies are widely available in our system. Some of our members are highly qualified therapists.
Other kinds of services currently being offered are Accomodation, Animals, Entertainment, Writing, Handcrafts, Cleaning, Baby sitting, Computer assistance, Photography, Bookkeeping etc etc etc.
Hire of equipment , and Trade of goods are regular occurrences too.
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Our unit of currency is the Gumnut. LETS complements the federal monetary system, extending our purse strings and making our community stronger and more resilient to downturns in the economy. |
We really get things done at our busy bees!
At certain times of the year those of us lucky enough to have gardens look out of our windows and wonder how on earth we're going to get all of that weeding/mulching/pruning/planting done!
One of those times is at the onset of summer when we all need to mulch mulch mulch!
One of the things that our system specialises in is busy bees, especially garden busy bees. Recently one of our members held a busy bee to spread a gigantic pile of mulch over a front lawn, in preparation for "going native". Now that makes sense!
Several members turned up to help, and the hostess made delicious herb & cheese scones & banana cake to feed the workers. Here's the (almost) finished result.
