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Town prints wooden currency during the pandemic

photo provided by iStock

June 18, 2020

As mayor of Tenino, Washington, Wayne Fournier saw the impact the coronavirus pandemic had directly on his town. One of the poorest areas in the state, with approximately 1,800 residents, the pandemic had affected not only local businesses, but the majority of families as well. Although local businesses were discussing teaming up with local banks for grants and loans, Fournier came up with a different idea: a town currency.

Fournier decided the town would set aside $10k to distribute to low income families struggling during the pandemic, but instead of federal dollars, Fournier printed town currency on thin sheets of wood on a 130-year-old newspaper printer housed at a local museum, according to a report in the Hustle.

The idea of wooden currency wasn’t new in Tenino; the town had printed sets of wooden dollars using the same printing press during the Great Depression. At that time, the wooden dollars helped the local economy thrive

To receive the wooden dollar currency during the pandemic, Tenino residents living below the poverty line had to apply to receive funds from the $10k fund that the town had put set aside. Once approved, residents picked up the wooden bills worth $25 each. No resident could receive more than 12 wooden notes, or $300 per month. Recipients could use the dollars for essentials that included food and gas, but not cigarettes, lottery tickets or alcohol. The businesses that received the wooden dollars submitted redemption requests twice a month to the city which would turn them into cash.

The idea of creating the town’s own currency, Fournier said in the report, was to keep the money in the community instead of having residents purchase from big box stores such as Walmart or services such as Amazon.

Tenino’s wooden dollars will lose its value once the pandemic ends and the town reopens, but the chamber of commerce may keep the wooden dollars in circulation to promote local businesses.