February 19, 2012
On Sunday, February 19th, Time/Food will open in Berlin, as an informal restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg, which will offer lunch every other Sunday in exchange for time credits and time currency that you can earn by helping others in Time/Bank community.
Time/Food, located in a small storefront space** in Prenzlauer Berg, 65 Winsstrasse, will be open for lunch from two until around four. This Sunday, February 19th, we will serve a menu of Mexican food classics prepared by Julieta Aranda including: Sopa de nuez con chipotle (pecan-chipotle soup), Tacos de cochinita pibil (Pulled pork tacos on achiote marinade), Papas con rajas (poblano peppers with potatoes, a vegetarian option), Arroz (rice), Frijoles refritos (refried beans) Flan (flan is flan in most languages) and finally Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus water).
Initiated in 2009,Time/Bank is a platform that enables people to trade goods and services without using money. With a growing pool of around three thousand participants around the world, Time/Bank allows groups and individuals to collectively exchange their time and skills through the use of credits earned through the bank, as an intermediary and guarantor. Time/Bank aims to create an immaterial currency and a parallel micro-economy for the cultural community, one that will create a sense of worth for many of the exchanges that already take place within the art field.
Time/Food is one of several initiatives of Time/Bank, that function both as a visualization of the parallel economy and its practical deployment. Similar to the Time/Store, currently in business at Stroom den Haag, where one can exchange time and skills for concrete commodities, Time/Food is a fully functional restaurant inspired by the Mexican institution of comida corrida — informal restaurants serving home style meals of several courses at a fixed price, eaten between about 2 and 4 p.m. The price of a meal is Half Hour.
**Time/Food is hosted in a space than can only accommodate 20 people at the time.