Tuesday, June 27, 2017

The criminal who inspired a new currency...

As my train travelled through the mountainous Rhône Valley in southern Switzerland, it was plain to see what this region is known for. Terraced vineyards carpeted the slopes, while fruit trees covered the valley floor: apple, pear and especially apricot, from which the area makes its famous schnapps, Abricotine.

The people in the Swiss canton of Valais are rightly proud of their home-grown products. And so it’s perhaps no surprise that they are now embracing a home-grown way to buy them.

In May 2017, a group of Valais residents launched a new regional currency. Like the UK’s Bristol pound and the the Franco-Spanish Basque region's Eusko, it’s a complementary rather than replacement currency. Its banknotes are worth the same as Swiss francs – the country’s official currency – but can only be spent in participating businesses in the Valais, which so far includes more than 150 restaurants, artisans, farm shops and wineries.

It’s a local initiative, backed by local people, that aims to boost the local economy, so it is apt that it’s been given a name with such local meaning: Farinet. Full story...

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