BerkShares, Inc.

Launched in the fall of 2006 by the E.F. Schumacher Society and the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce to encourage local shopping, BerkShares is a local currency that provides discounts for local residents who shop at local stores. The BerkShares group hopes the local currency will help build the local economy by keeping more dollars at home. In this manner, the group hopes to preserve local jobs and promote sustainable development by helping increase the level of community support of local owned enterprises and local manufacturing.