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A person offers their time (usually measured in hours or days) to benefit others. In return the person can benefit from availing other people’s time in the future. — Vineeth Chintala says.

What is a time bank?

Time bank is a system where community services are measured in terms of time, instead of money. A person offers their time (usually measured in hours or days) to benefit others. In return the person can benefit from availing other people’s time in the future. Services can include any social activity – such as teaching skills, volunteering at old age homes, driving somebody, etc. In this article, we will discuss some features of time-banking and offer some modifications that might be more useful for the Indian context.

History of modern time banking

While the economic ideas of time-banking date back to the 19th century (rooted in the labour theory of value), the first modern time-bank was started by Teruko Mizushima in 1973 ([3]). Drawing on her experiences in post-war Osaka, where women shared resources and skills during uncertain times, Mizushima pioneered the adoption of time banks in Japan. By 1983, within a span of ten years, the network had over 3600 members and 262 branches, including a branch in California. By the 1990s the movement took off in other parts of the world, with Edgar Cahn leading it in the US, where it has made a significant impact (see [1]). Today, time banks are present in over 30 countries around the world, including India, China, and various countries in Europe, Africa and South America.

Switzerland has implemented the time-bank concept in an old-age assistance program ([4]): volunteers who look after the elderly can now have their “time” deposited in their social security account. For example, if a person volunteered for 10 hours, then they can withdraw and avail 10 hours of service in the future, whenever they need assistance. This is an example of a centralized system where the government guarantees that time-credits can always be redeemed (even in the distant future).

Advantages of time banks

1. Fosters collaboration, community building by finding local solutions to local problems.
2. It increases economic opportunities to people whose skills and knowledge are not used efficiently in traditional markets. For instance, an elderly person can offer tutoring services to someone who drives them to the doctor every week.
3. Time-credits have no inflation or price changes, so it’s easier to plan for the future. In particular, healthcare and social assistance will only get expensive. A volunteer earns time-credits (by helping others during their free time) which can then be later used when they need it, without worrying about how much money it costs in the future.

Some challenges of time banks

Ease of implementation: A large scale time-bank requires regular maintainence to update its members’ activities and connect different members when they require a service.

Guarantee of long-term incentives : Since there is no guarantee that there will be volunteers in the future, this incentivizes short-term sharing of resources. In the case of a time-bank which is only focussed on old age assitance, this attracts less volunteers who are young because they might not need the same service in the near future.

Implementation : Centralized or Decentralized
Here are two basic models to implement time-banks.

1. Decentralized approach: One can have a software application/website where people can post the services they offer or require that week. It helps people connect in real time, and is probably more suitable for short-term sharing of activities or resources. However there is no guarantee that one’s time-credits can redeemed in the distant future.
2. Centralized approach: A central entity, for example the government or an old-age assistance home, guarantees future redemption of time-credits. This encourages long term volunteers and incentivizes people to offer their services even though they don’t need anything in the immediate future. This will increase the membership to a larger base of volunteers.

Two ideas to increase participation in India

While time banks have been around for many years, they are still far from reaching their full potential. One of India’s advantages is that 50% of its population is under the age of 25. So we should implement time-banks which incentivizes active participation from the youth. In the case of elderly homes, how should we implement time-banking where one often needs a stable commitment from volunteers, say for weeks or months? How can an elderly home incentivize volunteers or guarantee benefits for them in the distant future? Solutions to these questions will be a game- changer in the use of time banks in India.

Here are couple of ways to incentivize more people to participate:

1. Change the ratio to 1:2 or 1:3 for long-term commitments. For every month of volunteering, a person can get 2 or 3 months as time-credits. This will incentivize more young people, including students, to volunteer. Moreover volunteers can help with group sessions where they can interact with multiple people simultaneously, so changing the ratio is not unfair. You still encourage short term volunteers, who offer assistance for a few hours at a time, but on a 1:1 ratio.
2. Guarantee redemption and increase flexibility in redemption: People may not always foresee that they require services in the future, but they might know someone close to them who requires it. If they volunteer for a month, maybe the old age home can take care of their mother for a couple of months. As the volunteer network grows, NGOs and other groups (not just individuals) can collaborate by exchanging time – by sharing volunteers and implementing services.

Reference

1. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_time_bank_solution
2. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/economy/why-time-banking-is-a-crucial-tool-to-empower-women-82369
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_currency
4. https://www.weforum.org/videos/what-is-time-banking