Secure, healthy, and vital communities are not possible without a local economy that can sustainably produce the essentials of food, energy, and shelter as well as a broad base of other goods and services for local consumption as well as for export. But strong local economies are less and less viable with globalization and the capital flight it promotes. An innovative answer to this trend is to introduce financial tools that are tuned to the needs of the local economy, the most basic of which are local currencies.

Some of the many benefits of local currencies are that they keep wealth in our communities, invigorate local exchange, are optimized for local scale businesses, allow for local decision making to account for local needs, and they can be issued interest-free.

More about the benefits of local currencies

The primary purpose of our organization is to introduce viable local currencies to Columbia County. These currencies will promote consumer support of local businesses, capitalize local agriculture and enterprise, encourage re-investment in the local economy, and facilitate trade among local businesses and consumers. We have designed different but complementary currency tools to achieve each of the above goals:

Columbia Dollars
Columbia Farm Notes
Columbia Mutual Credit System