Complementary Currency Systems: our methods

The focus of STROs methods is to encourage the circulation of locally available purchasing power with the aim to create a healthy and dynamic local environment as the basis for further socio-economic development.
A protective environment is created at the local and regional level in which new entrepreneurs and economic activities can develop, unhindered by world market competition and artificial money scarcity.
The most successful of these entrepreneurs will become exporters. Those who do not have this potential can focus their skills and talents on the local and regional market and, some of them may use this environment to grow towards the outreach of the world market.

STRO promotes a sequence of complementary currency systems that fits to the different levels of social and economic organisation. Each of these have clear limits wherein the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

STRO has developed several systems:

• Controlled Currency System (CCS): targeted on informal businesses at community level to activate existing local (productive) capacity and to create more social cohesion
• Valuable Local Currency (VLC): targeted on micro-enterprises with as target economic (and social) inclusion of persons that are excluded from formal markets, resulting in better living conditions and higher self-esteem. Part of the VLC is the so called Bonus method .
• Circuit of Consumers and Commerce (C3) : targeted on small and medium enterprises to reduce financial costs by providing cheap micro credit. The second goal is to increase demand for products and services offered by the members of the circuit.
• Commodity Backed Currency (CBC): The CBC method is designed for organisations that sell goods that have a general demand (e.g. basic consumer goods, fuel etc.). The emitting organisation pays its suppliers and/or employees (partially) with its own currency. The currency is backed by the products of the emitting organisation that accepts the currency in exchange of its products.
  

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