Hey all,

Saw this on the BBC website today and thought it a good idea for Albania and the neighboring Albanian-speaking territories to help boost their local economies. It's a kind of 'Regional Money' used in ex-Communist regions of the eastern part of Germany which has parity with the Euro, but which is used to boost regional businesses and hopefully, create jobs.

I'm not by any means an economist, but wouldn't it be cool if, say, in the Korēa administrative district, businesses accepted this kind of thing for payment, and a whole network of local faithful business associates developed? To quote from the article:

"More than 200 businesses are using the regional currency, including shops, bakeries, florists, restaurants. There is even a cinema which accepts Urstromtaler."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6333063.stm

What do you think? When I was in Albania the year before last, I met some British and American business people who worked for USAID, and they made the point that it's most important for the Albanian businesses to learn how to market their services and compete first locally, then regionally, then with the neighboring countries like Greece.

Korēa has a lot to offer - some delicious locally-produced honey, cheeses, raki, beer, meats and pastries which are totally unique and admired throughout Albania. I tasted Acacia honey, wild fig preserves (Gliko me fiku tė egėr) which were unbelievably delicious. Could this idea work?

Tė fala,
David