Although it has not yet been used at my fieldsite, a community nearby developed its own currency (the "Tumin") several years ago as a way to stimulate their local economy in a way that didn't depend on money being injected from the outside. It helped to facilitate barter within the community by allowing people to sell products for Tumin, which in exchange could be used to buy other local products. Over time, established businesses in nearby towns also started accepting the currency. Businesses accepting Tumin display a sign that reads "Aceptamos Tumin" (We accept Tumin). Within the community, people can use Tumin to buy anything from honey to a taxi ride. Both Tumin and Pesos coexist, although prices in Tumin tend to be lower than prices in Pesos. In order to get Tumin, one must offer a product or service for sale in the community and accept Tumin as payment. Roughly the size and texture of a business card, Tumin come in several denominations. This is what they look like:
Some of the businesses in a nearby town that accept Tumin include a pharmacy and butcher shop:
To learn more about Tumin, here is a 2012 article from the BBC:
El pueblo que invento sus billetes, and a downloadable book written by researchers in 2014:
Aceptamos Tumin.
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