Kia ora (hello),

Well, it’s been a very long time since I have updated this blog, but I have some news to add and I guess it’s never too late to start updating this blog again, albeit on an irregular basis.

Although all of my research interviews have been conducted in the North Island, I have had the opportunity for on-going participant observation in the world of time banking through my role as co-founder of the Dunedin Timebank. This has been a fascinating source of experiences and insight into how a timebank works (or at least, how one timebank in one particular location works). And although my experience is specific to this one community, all of my time spent on the committee has helped me to better understand the joys and frustrations expressed by the people that I have interviewed in the North Island timebanks.

We recently hit a major milestone in our development, as we have hired a part-time (14 hours per week) Project Coordinator. This position has been filled by the very capable Liz Carroll Lowe, who brings many years of relevant experience and a whole range of fantastic skills to share with the Dunedin Timebank! We feel very lucky that she has chosen to work with us. You can read more about this great step in the development of the Dunedin Timebank in this article recently published by our local newspaper, the Otago Daily Times:

Timebanking for ‘better community’

In the picture alongside the newspaper article, you can see Liz our new coordinator in the foreground, and myself (Emma McGuirk) and Ralph Lawrence in the background discussing the next steps for fixing the bike.