By James Straub

ELLSWORTH — Dripping faucet driving you crazy? Can’t afford a plumber?

How about trading some sewing or letter-writing for the plumbing repair?

Time Bank exchanges are making such service swaps more readily available and easier to arrange.

The concept of offering services in exchange for Time Dollars, which can buy other services, was created by Edgar Cahn in 1980. The Time Dollar Institute was formally established in 1995.

The first Time Bank exchange in Maine was established as a pilot program in Portland in 1998.

Today, there are eight Time Banks in Maine and 14 in New England. Another 20 exchanges are in the start-up stages in New England.

Elizabeth Adams, an Ellsworth songwriter and clinical social worker, hopes to add another Time Bank to Maine’s list by opening a regional network office in Ellsworth.

She will host an organizational meeting Sunday, Feb. 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Ellsworth.

The event starts with a potluck supper at 6 p.m. An informational session with representatives from other Maine Time Banks starts at 7 p.m.

Others helping Adams start a Time Bank in Ellsworth include Bob St. Peter, a grant writer from Blue Hill.

Adams said she foresees a regional office in Ellsworth that would support smaller Time Banks in local communities.

“I believe in the concept of bartering, and this takes it one more step,” she said.

Time Bank members offer services in exchange for Time Dollars, which can be cashed in for services from other network members.

The range of services is endless. The concept is based on a belief that everyone’s time is equal. An hour spent doing an oil change is no different than an hour spent making phone calls.

The nearest Time Bank is based on Mount Desert Island.

Renee Clukey, MDI Time Bank coordinator, said the MDI exchange has been operating for about two years.

She took on the coordinator’s job two months ago and is focused on building excitement about the program and finding creative ways to match services offered with those needed.

She said participation in the program is “definitely continuing to grow.”

The MDI network, which aims to serve all of Hancock County, numbers about 60 members.

“There’s a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for Time banking among participants,” Clukey said. “The sky’s the limit, depending on what people are willing to exchange.”

Clukey said residents throughout the county are encouraged to join the MDI exchange initially and transfer to the Ellsworth exchange when it is up and running.

She welcomes an exchange in Ellsworth because it would offer “more potential to collaborate and offer combined services.”

To contact the MDI exchange, call 288-5309 or e-mail hourpower@postmark.net.

Clukey and others involved with Time Banks in Maine insist the program is mostly about building community.

“We’re building a culture of people who are just there for each other,” she said. “The Time Dollars are in many cases secondary. It’s a network of people willing to help each other.”

The Mid-Coast Time Bank based in Rockland offers a network stretching from Waldoboro to Stockton Springs.

Coordinator Jamie Griffin said current membership is more than 200 and “absolutely building strong.”

The Mid-Coast exchange is part of the Coastal Community Action Program, which provides a location and infrastructure to the exchange.

In turn, the exchange supports the Community Action Program’s clients by offering another way to meet their needs.

The Mid-Coast exchange is in its third year of operation.

“It’s just fabulous,” Griffin said. “It’s another way to meet peoples’ needs and create community.”

She said Time banking is filling a role once provided by families.

One elderly woman in the Mid-coast area joined the exchange when she needed someone to hang a curtain because she didn’t want to get on a footstool to do it, Griffin said.

“Everybody’s time is equal, no matter what the skill,” she said. “Everybody has value. Everybody has something to offer.”

It is not necessary to have time in the bank to use a service offered in the network directory.

Some people become members by first taking advantage of services offered then earning Time Dollars to repay the deed and build equity.

Time Dollars can be spent outside one’s own exchange network.

Griffin said a local member spent her Time Dollars with a Time Bank in Portland where acupuncture treatment was available. Another cashed in some Time Dollars to stay at a place in Katahdin.

Auta Main, director of New England Time Banks in Portland, said that exchange is the hub for Maine and all Time Banks in the United States.

She said the vision in 1998 was to start a pilot project in Portland, and “if successful, spread across the state.”

The New England Time Banks offers start-up assistance, including two-day training seminars.

“It’s very exciting to see Time Banks start,” Main said. “The last thing we want is to see them fail.”

She said experience has taught her that it is important to have at least one paid staff member when starting a Time Bank. Ideally, that person would work with a “grassroots kitchen cabinet.”

“It really takes a lot of work the first year to get it off the ground,” Main said. “After three years, [exchanges] are usually self-sustaining with the membership.”