Don’t be surprised if a new type of money starts appearing in purses and wallets around Vancouver this summer.

Organizers of the Seedstock Project plan to introduce a community currency which will be good for purchases at participating businesses in the city.

The idea behind the initiative is to create a better-connected economy, support community groups, and encourage local shopping.

“It’s a money that better corresponds to the values of somebody that wants a more sustainable and resilient local economy,” said Jordan Bober, one of the project organizers.

The paper money is to have the same value as the Canadian dollar and be available in standard denominations from $1 to $20. There are also plans to make the currency available electronically through a website and mobile app.

Businesses would not have to pay any fees to join the program. To participate, they would agree to issue a certain amount of Seedstock money and commit to allowing customers to make full or partial payment for goods or services using the currency.

Participating businesses would then put the Seedstock money into circulation by donating it to local nonprofit groups working in the areas of food security, the arts, or health and wellness. Those nonprofit groups could then use the Seedstock money to make purchases from participating businesses or raise funds by exchanging it for cash with community members.

“We’re really looking for this to be first and foremost something that’s very grassroots-driven: it’s people, it’s businesses, it’s nonprofits,” Bober said.

Hundreds of similar community currencies already exist around the world, according to project organizers. In B.C., such currencies are in place on Vancouver Island, on the Gulf Islands, and in the Kootenays.

Bober, a Vancouver resident, became interested in community currencies several years ago when he was working on his master’s thesis in economics.

“Right now we have a monetary system that doesn’t really serve people, you know?” he told the Straight by phone today (June 18). “Money’s created by the banks and it serves their purposes and then it generates some pretty destructive patterns including our growth imperative that makes us think we need to be fracking and putting pipelines to the coast and all that kind of stuff.”

“I think that a community currency is just the best way that I’ve ever seen as an economist to actually create a strong, local economy.”

Organizers of the Seedstock Project are optimistic the community currency could eventually be used throughout Metro Vancouver.

In July, an art show is planned to gather design ideas for the currency. Meanwhile, project organizers are continuing to recruit businesses to participate and working to establish a nonprofit cooperative to run the initiative.

The community currency is expected to launch in August.