In order to promote local purchasing, the Chamber of Commerce of Charlevoix this week launched the chouenne, a local currency to be spent in businesses in the region.
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Cabbage is currently accepted in more than a hundred places and it is already showing promise.
“A cabbage equals a dollar. It’s easy, there is no exchange rate and there is no speculation either. You can buy paper cabbage or you can buy digital cabbage, ”explained Johanne Côté, general manager of the Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce.
The project seeks to counter the exodus of customers to large centers such as Quebec and to online shopping.
“What we wanted was to be able to keep local money in order to have economic prosperity and that we continue to be able to support local businesses,” said Ms. Côté.
Customers can order cabbage at the Chamber of Commerce and it is also possible to download this currency to their mobile device. In the longer term, we hope to be able to deploy counters in the region.
“It’s considered a bit like a prepaid card. […] It is simply the method of payment that changes, ”noted Ms. Côté.
To encourage the population to use cabbage, the Chamber of Commerce is offering an introductory promotion that increases the value of cabbage purchased by 20% up to a maximum of 250,000 cabbage in circulation.
“After that, all the people who go to buy cabbage will still take advantage of a 5% discount every time they buy cabbage. So it increases the purchasing power of the people of our region, ”said Johanne Côté.
As of Saturday, there were still around 70,000 chouennes available, a sign that the craze for the new currency is very present.
The traders were also enthusiastic about this project.
“It’s a bad word that we use a lot, but in fact buying locally is to buy from someone who is going to come back to buy from you and you are going to go back to buy from him,” said Julie. Bouchard, co-owner of Al Dente. “So the circular economy which is linked to this is only an advantage. Me when I saw who was participating, and there will be a lot more people who will be added, I already know where to spend all my cabbage. “
The goal is for the cabbage to become timeless and for locals to continue to use it for years to come.