About/Join

BrumLETS: More Information

A Local Exchange and Trading Scheme (LETS) is a non-profit network using a system of Mutual Exchange whereby individuals and organisations may credit each other for goods and services. Members make payments from their own account, which goes into "commitment", with all accounts, including a central system account and other special accounts balancing to zero. You can get work done even if you're short of cash, and you can use your skills to improve your community. Our unit of currency is called the "Heart" (Birmingham being the "Heart of England").

How BrumLETS works: Members meet informally at local socials to get to know each other and bring goods to trade. We also use an online system, enabling information to be available to all members in real time. Once logged in, everything you need to do about Offers and Wants, contacting other members, updating your profile and making transactions, is managed via this website. However, if you want to print out any of the pages, for yourself or members who are not online, you can use a printer-friendly view, via a tab at the foot of the page. The organisation is managed by an annually elected Core Group. The system used to be paper-based, using cheques, which is not available at the moment, but could be reinstated on request if there is someone on the Core Group able to do the necessary work.

History of BrumLETS: The current organisation was formed in March 2005 by combining North and South Birmingham LETS, then became inactive in 2012 due to key members leaving - we thank the original organisers for all the work done to keep the system going. In 2017, with new people wanting to join, a re-launch is now in progress. We aim to build the organisation to serve as a support network for like-minded individuals wanting to support innovative projects across the West Midlands. Meanwhile, you can see Offers & Wants currently available by following the links on the sidebar.

More information is in the Further Information page. Our Members Agreement is undergoing revision, and we have a new Constitution, which is in draft until formally agreed at an EGM. Our catchment area - which links to lists of local members once you are logged in is shown here in the form of a Neighbourhood Grid. Here are links to earlier versions of the BrumLETS Leaflet and Application Pack - but please note the address on these documents is out of date - we are in the process of revising them. If you would like to give BrumLETS a try please complete the Application Form. Once you have joined, if you need support in managing your account, please call LETSlink - this is a national number, until we have organised a local number: 020 7607 7852

About BrumLETS • Further Information • Constitution • Agreement • Application Form