By our new resident storyteller, Victoria Stewart.
Imagine if a new bank arrived in Brixton and threw a party. A combination of a speed dating event and a trading floor, and where the currency was not cash but skills – such as marketing strategy or financial planning advice.
Well last Thursday afternoon, Impact Hub Brixton hosted just that event. Inspired by the arrival of Echo, also known as the Economy Of Hours network, it offered members the chance to spend 45 minutes swapping skills: anything from photography aid to cross-cultural mediation.
Echo was started in East London in 2013 by Matthew McStravick, who believed that the sharing economy could be used as a force for social justice. In Echo’s 2016 report, it suggests that because of the “growing problem of disconnected communities, particularly in urban areas… more and more of our general everyday activities that were traditionally carried out by small familial or social groups are becoming monetised. Monetised relationships are inherently imbalanced and operate as singular transactions rather than helping to grow an ongoing sense of connectedness.” As a result of this they write that “there’s a lack of connectivity in and between communities that is preventing people from reaching their full potential.”
And so what they want to do is simple:
- Anyone can sign up and set up a profile of the skill(s) they want to offer.
- After taking a look around at the skills and opportunities on offer, they can begin trading.
- One hour of anyone’s time is always equal to one Echo – that includes planning time!
- Every person who signs up is given five echoes in their overdraft, which they can use to start shopping!
Every person who signs up is given five echoes in their overdraft, which they can use to start shopping!
Hub intern Mahalia Changlee joined the Hub in July to bring Echo to life at Impact Hub Brixton.
“I am employed here part-time for the summer and my role is to launch Echo as a system in the Hub. My role is to make sure that members know about it, and that a good amount of people are swapping their skills – so that when I leave, somebody else can take over a system that has a bit of structure.”
So what happened at last week’s event?
13 people and three Hub facilitators discussed the skills they could offer, from graphic design help to cross-cultural mediation, access consultancy and podcast set-up advice. Others said they were on the look-out for e-commerce help, business coaching, business card design and advice on scaling up a small business. There was a four-minute time limit, with each half of the pair spending two minutes each proposing what they needed or how they could help. The first trade came from Hubber Rachel who took photographs of the event in return for three Echos.
“People were excited, but I think also intrigued – and I’ve never come across anything like it before,” says Mahalia, who is currently doing a dissertation on politicised space as part of her degree in anthropology at UCL. “There was a buzz in the air – a nice friendly open environment where you could just talk about anything, from the biscuits on offer and the skills that you want to offer. I think that’s one of the things that I feel proud of from this event, that people felt comfortable sharing these problems – which they are sometimes – with each other.”
Coming Up:
There will be weekly Echo events to get involved in. On Tuesday 16th August, there will be a ‘Skills Supermarket’ between 12-12.30, where you can swap skills. From 12.30-1pm there will also be an Echo helpdesk/support where people can sign up and learn more about Echo. More details on Yammer.
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