FAQs

What is the history and background behind Takoma Time?

TakomaTime was started in 2007 by Sharon Villines as part of the effort to save and revitalize the Takoma Theatre. As a member of the Takoma Theatre Conservancy Board, she convinced the other members to support a time bank and to call it CurtainTime. The idea was that this would not just serve the operations of the theater but also serve the actors, dancers, and musicians, and integrate them with the neighborhood. An actor attending a rehearsal, for example, could request childcare from a member living in Takoma. The actor could in turn offer acting classes to members of the community. Or do readings at parties. Members could donate hours to the theater and request pet-sitting from other members. Members could offer rides to and from theater performances.

The Conservancy was unable to acquire the theater at that time and board efforts were directed toward fund raising and feasibility. CurtainTime was not a priority so when Sharon left the board in early 2008 she converted it to a neighborhood timebank. TakomaTime was born.

What has the response of the community been?

Everyone was very positive about the idea but they were slow to did sign up. By mid-2009, the timebank had over a hundred members and many offers of services but still very few exchanges. The first exchange was between Sharon and Lou Lieb who helped her transplant some Dusty Miller plants.

The services offered were very interesting and reflecting the population of the neighborhood, were heavily weighted toward professional services: group facilitation, Photoshop skills and troubleshooting, website design, videotaping and editing advice, edible gardening, sewing and mending, Filipino stick-fighting, selling on eBay, computer virus protection, research sources on the Web, goal setting and leadership, ESL, Portuguese, Japanese, music theory, residential, remote-control robot development, Rubik’s Cube lessons, etc. Hundreds of fascinating things. Travel advice, real estate consulting, life coaching.

The most popular, however, in terms of frequent transactions are pet sitting and rides to Costco, airports, and doctor’s appointments. A visitor from a New England timebank was able to arrange rides to and from the Air and Space Museum at Dulles.

Why aren’t people taking full advantage of all the services offered?

People are uncomfortable calling strangers. We need to do more potlucks so people can meet each other. Once things are started, people can then refer each other. Friends of friends aren’t strangers.

So how do people get connected to TakomaTime?

Membership really picked up when we began reminding people that they could use TakomaTime hours for services they were looking for on neighborhood email lists. That is the neighborhood’s major source of requests for referrals to services.

It also helped enormously when Sharon formed a Kitchen Cabinet of six people who helped with outreach and encouragement. It was more people talking in more places. Passing out flyers. Talking about the services they had received and how they were going to use their hours.

What is a Kitchen Cabinet?

A group of women in New England met weekly around their kitchen tables to do all the paperwork required to run their labor exchange before they were called time banks and before there were computers. In a humorous and accurate play on the president’s cabinet, and on Andrew Jackson’s cabinet woes, they called themselves the Kitchen Cabinet.

What would you tell someone who is considering joining Takoma Time?

It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and have things done that you might not think of spending money on. You can try it out. Thinking about learning Japanese? Have a private lesson to see what it involves. Need to know whether to put in that new kitchen if you are selling your house in three years? Call for a consultation.

It offers access to many things that you might hesitate spending money on this month.

it’s also a way to share your skills with your neighbors. Helping others is a basic human characteristic. It feels good. Typically people give many more hours than they ever use. (Sharon is rumored to have banked over 400 hours!)