Greece bartering system popular in Volos
Mark Lowen By Mark Lowen BBC News, Volos
As Greece wonders whether its debt crisis will eventually spell its exit from the euro, one town, Volos, has formed an alternative local currency
A few months ago, an alternative currency was introduced in the Greek port city of Volos. It was a grass-roots initiative that has since grown into a network of more than 800 members, in a community struggling to afford items in euros during a deepening financial crisis.
The handicrafts stall at Volos central market lies at the end, just past the homemade jams. After perusing what there is on offer, Hara Soldatou picks out a set of decorated candles, delighted with her purchase. "They cost me 24 TEM, which I built up by offering yoga classes," she says.
Wherever you wander through the market area, one thing you won't need in your pocket is money.
From jewellery to food, electrical parts to clothes, everything here is on sale through a local alternative currency called TEM.
It works as an exchange system. If you have goods or services to offer, you gain credit, with one euro equivalent to one TEM.
You can then use your "savings" to buy whatever else is being offered through the network, leading to some rather original exchanges of goods.
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"Start Quote
It's a big solution against this crisis - life goes on, we have to fight"
Charalampos Bardas
It's all reminiscent of an ancient bartering system returning to today's Greece.
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