Time Banking in Taita is one step closer to getting up and running after a workshop held in March 2010.

People representing a number of social organisations, health services, churches and the community came to a workshop hosted by Hosanna Church, St Matthews and Great Start at the New Dowse, and time banking was the hot topic.

After a karakia to open the day Taita Time Bank champion, Helen Hamilton (pictured with Time Banking packs) welcomed everyone and told her story about why she has become committed to helping create a Time Bank in the Taita community.

Facilitator Anneleise Hall then gave a presentation on time banking and encouraged the group to imagine what was possible in Taita with a Time Bank linking and incorporating all community members, community services, schools, churches, home help, peer support, health and social service providers in a system of reciprocity.

After an interactive exercise showing how Time Banking weaves together community, Karen Clifford explained why Great Start and Barnardos had embraced the Time Banking concept and were willing to help the project to get off the ground.

Participants brainstormed a question; "How can we work together to empower and transform this community through time banking?"

Small groups then fed back to everyone what they had come up with.

People were excited and there were commitments to promote time banking, to become member organisations, to see where it aligned with community nursing and care, organisations were keen to have information and brochures available. Spaces were offered to hold trainings and meetings. Everyone wants to stay connected and up to date with all new developments.

The local schools are all on board with Time Banking already and we are looking forward to seeing what wonderful ideas the children come up with to participate. At St Michael's School the children are already promised time credits for decorating the information pack envelopes for the workshop with pictures of what looking after each other means to them.

New funding opportunities were mentioned and Colin Lewis has secured enough funding to buy the Time Bank a laptop and the Community Weaver software to run the Time Bank.

Team Time Bank, Karen, Helen, Wilma, Charles, Steve and Anneleise were delighted with the response to the workshop and look forward working together with everyone to make Taita Time Bank a thriving reality in the community.