Our Purpose
Economics as if People and the Planet Mattered.
We are a network of educators dedicated to strengthening regional economies through sustainable, interest-free exchange.
The Living Economies Educational Trust is a registered educational charity (CC 38114) based in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
We believe that the economy should serve the community, not the other way around.
By promoting practical alternatives like Savings Pools, TimeBanks, and Cooperatives, we help communities keep wealth local and build resilience against the "business as usual" debt-based system.
Meet Our Team
Helen Dew
Co - Founding Board Member
Helen’s awareness of the potential of complementary currencies for environmental, social, and economic well-being began in 1991 when she joined the Wairarapa Green Dollar Exchange. In 2002, she became a founding member of the Living Economies board and the New Zealand distributor of Margrit Kennedy’s book Interest and Inflation Free Money, the first of many titles recommended to visitors to the Living Economies website.
Helen is a keen networker. Her attendance at international currency conferences in Germany (2003) and New York (2004) expanded her global connections with others researching and promoting complementary currencies. She was project manager for the New Zealand edition of Fleeing Vesuvius, published by Living Economies in 2011.
In 2025 she self-published her memoir: Looking Back and Looking Ahead.
And, A warm children’s picture book inspired by Helen Dew, introducing little ones to living lightly on the planet.: Good For You, Helen Dew!
Bryan Innes
Founding Board Member
Bryan has been teaching permaculture design since 1996. With his partner, Jo Pearsall, he co-founded the four Ecoshows, which helped launch Transition Towns NZ and the 2012 Australasian Permaculture Convergence.
He is a trustee of Awhi Turangi Trust, a centre for sustainable practice focused on experimental building, livelihood creation, and food production, and a tertiary education hub for Otago Polytechnic. In 2006, after studying interest-free banking in Sweden and attending a community currencies conference in Weimar, Germany, Bryan developed the Genuine Wealth System (also known as Savings Pools), an interest-free, reciprocity-based community economy.
Phil Stevens
Board Member
Phil is a carbon storage entrepreneur, regenerative agriculture adviser, and energy/carbon management consultant. He also supports the Community Forge Network, an open‑source mutual credit system used by over 100 LETS and TimeBank organisations worldwide. Locally, he leads educational workshops for RECAP, a community resilience initiative in Ashhurst and the Pohangina Valley, and volunteers in its community garden and orchard.
Raised in the desert Southwest of the US, Phil developed a deep respect for the limits of the natural world. He emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 2005 to pursue a more self‑sufficient lifestyle and stronger community networks. He is also a versatile musician and sound engineer.
Antony White
Board Member - Treasurer
Antony is a chartered accountant and has a deep interest in finance, which led him to savings pools as a solution for simple lending for individuals and families.
Murray Stentiford
Board Member - Secretary
Murray’s education and professional background are in science, engineering, and IT. He is passionate about helping people understand how local economies and alternative currencies can build empowered, resilient communities that weather economic ups and downs.
He has been extensively involved in holistic education programmes and has held several leadership roles in voluntary organisations. Murray is a keen student of practices that enhance communication and well-being, including Nonviolent Communication and Coaching. He has also worked as a professional musician across several genres.
Deirdre Kent
Patron
Deirdre has championed strong local economies since the 1970s, when she stood as a Values Party candidate and served as a Tauranga City Councillor. Originally a maths teacher, she moved into community work, helping to establish several women’s organisations before becoming a professional lobbyist for health group ASH, where she worked on smoke-free legislation.
She later edited the national newsletter The Indicator, during which time she met economist and author Richard Douthwaite and began writing Healthy Money Healthy Planet: Developing Sustainability through New Money Systems. Deirdre went on to co‑found Transition Town Ōtaki and, in 2011, The New Economics Party, which led to her book The Big Shift. She now lives in Waikanae.
Etai Gilad
Board Member
Originally from Israel, Etai has lived and travelled in many diverse cultures around the world before making Raglan his home nine years ago. Professionally, he is a solution-focused counsellor and hypnotherapist, dedicated to empowering people to create positive change in their lives. Etai is deeply committed to community resilience and the Living Economies mission, being an active participant in Timebank Raglan and local savings pools.
Tayer Hewitt
Board Member
Tayer's passion for creating an alternative/co-current 'economy' was ignited when attending a Living Economies Hui in Lyttleton as a coordinator for a local Timebank group. What she learnt at that Hui flung her into an exciting and scary new mindset of seeing how little she really knew about this thing called 'money' and 'the economy'! Tayer is most interested in creating a healthy space for communities to flourish, ideally with a local currency, local food production and with local governance. She is currently learning about Sociocracy, a goveranence structure prioritising transparency, equality of voice and effectiveness.