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Post subject: pig tusks , that'll do nicely sir..
 Posted: Jul 21, 2007 - 01:15 PM
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Member
Joined: Mar 25, 2003
Posts: 7573
Location: 221B Baker Street London
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The Tari Bunia Bank accepts unusual deposits
It is a regular bank in almost every respect. It has accounts, reserves, cheque books and tight security. It also pays a handsome 15% interest and offers mortgages and easy credit. But the 14 branches of the Tari Bunia Bank, spread around the lush forests of Vanuatu's remote Pentecost Island, deal in a very special sort of currency. "I have come to make a deposit," said Vira Sanialo, clutching a hand woven mat and a small pig's tusk.
The manager, Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua, leaned across his desk and peered carefully at the tusk. He would need to weigh it, he explained, but the two items would be credited promptly to Vira Sanialo's 10-year savings account.
For centuries, Pacific islanders have used tusks, mats, shells and even giant rocks as currency for trading and ceremonial purposes. But the Tari Bunia Bank is now taking that custom to a new level of sophistication - and helping to protect Vanuatu's isolated traditional communities from the harsher imperatives of modern capitalism.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 266274.stm
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 21, 2007 - 02:47 PM
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Member
Joined: Dec 12, 2005
Posts: 10561
Location: Never you mind where I'm at! You don't need to be knowing! Snoops!
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I like that article. Ready cash is so hard to come by. Reminds me of the gold prospecting days of California and Alaska. Weighing tiny ounces of gold in exchange for goods or the goods that Native Americans would trade back and forth. I'm not against capitalism, but I do disagree with the eradication of traditions. Thankyou for the article, Britstarfan.  |
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