This project seeks to utilise a Time Bank system for teaching, learning, research and community development.
What is Time Banking
A Time Bank system is a way of exchanging skills and resources without spending money. This system is particularly useful for mobilising resources to assist communities going through an economic crisis as is the case now with the impacts of Covid-19 in poor communities. Time banking is a cashless concept used for skills exchange. Participants are volunteers who 'deposit' their time by giving practical help, support and skills; and are able to 'withdraw' their time when they need something done themselves ( see for example https://timebank.org.uk/). Time banking is a global volunteer concept that dates back to the early 19th century (see for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_currency). There are time banks in the US, UK, Spain, Guatamela, New Zealand, South Korea, Mexico, France, Canada and Australia. In the US alone, there are over 80 community time banks (see http://community.timebanks.org/).
How will time banking be used in Global Business teaching and learning
Time banking will be used in this community project by connecting global business students with small enterprises in local communities to facilitate global business skills exchange. SBL Global business students will be providing skills and knowledge to prepare small local enterprises to access urban markets. The hours spent by global business students in helping communities will then be deposited in their time account. The idea is to develop an assessment tool that incorporates time used by students as well as their critical reflections in assisting small enterprises in local communities. Members of the community’s time in helping one another will also be deposited in the time bank. This is specifically to ensure community cohesion.
The aim of the project is fourfold fold
- To cultivate social activism among SBL global business students by utilising a Time Banking system to assist the community of Luthengele in Port St Johns to develop self-help projects.
- To construct a teaching and learning assessment tool that incorporates journal reflections and Time Banking to assess deep learning and critical reasoning.
- To facilitate transfer of skills in ways that create rural-urban value chains.
