For_England

The signs at Sunday's festival in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, announced: "One million sold."

That's not burgers or books, but BerkShares dollar notes, a currency adopted by towns in the Berkshire Region of New York state and western Massachusetts to support locally owned businesses and services.

Sponsors of the 10-month-old economic experiment held the community festival to celebrate the success of the program, which is sponsored by the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and the E.F. Schumacher Society. Last week, local banks selling BerkShares reached a total of $900,000 in deposits, according to Susan Witt, BerkShares' administrator and the executive director of the Schumacher Society. Since notes are sold to consumers at participating banks for 90 cents each, the milestone indicates that one million BerkShares have been sold.

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The ChesterBelloc Mandate: Buy Local <em>With Local Currency</em>