The Community Exchange Network Tasmania (CENTs) is a project initiative of the North West Environment Centre. We are a volunteer run community exchange network operating throughout Tasmania where people trade their goods, services and skills with one another without money. CENTs also operates in the Gift Economy where people give things away to others or they can also swap, barter, loan, hire and share with others.
Community exchanges create a mutually supportive network of people helping each other. You can help other people or they can help you in lots of different ways – such as gardening, home help, baby sitting, office work, providing transport or by teaching someone a new skill. You can buy goods from others in the community to help you meet your day to day needs. You can access services that you may not be able to afford if you had to pay money for it.
After registering for an account each user receives an account number and a password. This gives them access to their account. The Community Exchange System works like an on-line banking service. Participants can view their current balance and can also keep track of the trading position of others so there is full transparency.
Goods and services are advertised on this web site through an ‘Offerings List’. Participants browse this list in order to find goods or services they wish to “buy”. Once they have identified what they want they contact the “seller” who then provides the goods or service. The seller then enters the transaction into the system which credits the account of the seller and debits that of the buyer. The buyer is the passive party in the transaction.
CENTs publishes a quarterly newsletter and also hosts regular Trading Events for the community to get together in a more social setting and to talk about all things relating to community exchange systems and their local community.
It is FREE to join CENTs. All transactions made through the exchange attract a Levy 4% of the transaction total which funds the Administration to provide the software and platform for this valuable network to the community of Tasmania.