A group called Global Community Initiatives has put together a basic but informative flash presentation on the basics of currency, some of the history of currency and community currency and introduces barter or organized barter as a means of facilitating local transactions. It is worth watching. If you have experience in the barter world, you may want to skip ahead to slide 12 or so.

See the full presentation at http://www.global-community.org/gc/newsfiles/39/Community%20Currency.swf

barter, Community Currency, Global community initiatives