In May 2019, we told you about the Pembrokeshire bank that accepts time as currency. By this, we were referring to Pembrokeshire Time Bank Network, which has been working to create a safe support structure for carrying out neighbourly activity.

Since then, the project has evolved into an online time bank via a new digital platform, where small acts of kindness between people in Pembrokeshire can be usefully exchanged (the platforms and the digital time banks are also available in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion).

Members of the community can now ‘OFFER’ an individual skill (gardening, IT, DIY) to earn Time Credits (1 hour = 1 Time Credit) and when required, they can ‘REQUEST’ someone else’s skills for something specific they need solved (by spending their earned time credits). This is a revelation for the West Wales community and an essential framework which will enable acts of kindness to sustain our wellbeing.

Whilst the platforms are in their test phase (the system has been launched early to help manage the impact of COVID-19), you are invited to join by creating an account and adding the skills you can offer to your profile. New profiles are policed by phone reference and communication between people offering and requesting skills is made via a private messaging system. Click on the ‘GET STARTED’ button of the time bank website for a step by step guide.