Chiemgauer
Chiemgauer is the name of a REGIO community currency started on 2003 in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany.
Christian Gelleri, a high school teacher, started this project with his students who are in charge of designing and printing vouchers, administration, accounting, advertising and other services.
Currency Working Mechanism
Bills of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Chiemgauer were issued, each one is equivalent to respectively to 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Euro. To mantain them in circulation, every three months, you have to put on the banknotes a "scrip", corresponding to the 2% of the banknote value. This system, called demurrage, is a sort of currency circulation tax and was invented by Silvio Gesell.
Currency Goals
- 1. Employement creation: students are hired to work, earning some allowances.
- 2. Promotion of cultural, educational and environmental activities: Chiemgauer system supports non-profits who work for such purposes
- 3. Promotion of sustainability: organic food and renewable energy among others
- 4. Strengthening the solidarity: enhancing the human relationship between local shoppers and businesses
- 5. Stimulation of local economy: Chiemgauer retains purchasing power within the region better than Euro and favors local small businesses, stimulating transactions by the demurrage.
Currency Circulation
Chiemgauer, considered to be equivalent to Euro, circulates as follows within Prien and neighboring towns.
Non-profits: purchase 103 Chiemgauer at 100 Euro and resell them to at 103 Euro, therefore earning 3 Euro to be spent for their own activities
Shoppers: exchange 103 Euro into 103 Chiemgauer at a non-profit they support, allowing it to have extra cash income without donating, and spend Chiemgauer at local businesses at face value, therefore helping both local non-profits and businesses without any further cost.
Businesses: accept 103 Chiemgauer at face value and spend them for their own purchases or exchange 103 Chiemgauer into 97.85 Euro, losing 5 percent for commission but earning more by attracting Chiemgauer members for their products and/or services.
Chiemgauer Office: sell 103 Chiemgauer at 100 Euro and repays 97.85 Euro for re-exchange, therefore retaining 2.15 Euro to cover its administration cost.
Chiemgauer in numbers
- Number of members (Oct 2004): 500
- Number of businesses (Oct 2004): 200
- Amount of Chiemgauer in circulation (Oct 2004): 24,000
- Turnover of businesses (Dec 2004, planned): 180,000
- Amount of Euros for non-profits (Dec 2004, planned): 5,400
- Multiplier effect: On average 2.5 transactions are made in Chiemgauer before being exchanged again into Euro and pouring out of the region while in Euro the average number is 1.7.
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