LOCAL EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEMS (LETS) were first developed in Canada in response to a situation with high levels of unemployment and poverty. Many of those without jobs were willing to work. The originators of the schemes believe that there is a need to ensure that economic systems are designed to meet rather than thwart the needs of communities. This book describes the principles and practice of these schemes and it includes many short descriptions of their operation drawing on examples in the UK. Each scheme involves a group of community members who decide to form an association. The group creates a unit of exchange and offers goods and services to each other priced in these units. The association keeps a record of the transactions and each person’s net expenditure. Members do not have to have a credit before they spend. On the contrary, expenditure is encouraged because it creates a demand within the local economy that has been established. Members are encouraged to go into debt in order to purchase goods from others, although members’ debts are monitored to ensure they are not too large. In practice this is rarely a problem. The unit of exchange is then linked to the national currency (the pound sterling) at some agreed value to allow goods to be partially bought and sold and partially traded within LETS. Many different goods are traded through LETS, including vegetables and cooked meals, car repairs, hair-dressing, painting and decorating, and dress-making. Although most are individual services, some conventional business enterprises have also joined LETS. The book includes chapters on setting up LETS schemes, drawing local businesses into LETS schemes, and LETS and the law.