Jiann hughes

I'm the proud recipient of the second Chippo Dollar ever to be printed.

I have to say the lunch that I bought with it from the magnificent cafe Guilia was all the sweeter from my gardening experience that earned it. As were the freshly picked box of fruit and veg which had come directly from the local farmers who had grown them.

And all this for a couple of hours planting a few bay trees, chilli plants and coriander seeds.

I'd forgotten what a social experience gardening could be and my dog was happy with the extra attention she was getting from passers by.

It was good to get to know some neighbours. Nathan, who received the first Chippo Dollar, gave me a run down of how the Peace Park compost bins work. Michael, who dreamt up the initiative, explained how to work the soil and talked me through his gray water system which we used to water the plants.

Curious passers by enquired about what we were planting. One old Greek man shared some recipes using Bay leaves, or dhafni as he explained it's called in Greek.

And when we were done we browsed Micheal's Stephanie Alexander for ideas about how to use my freshly picked bay leaves. I ended up cooking Moules Mariniere with the bay leaves and spiced them up with some chilli fresh off the street.

I'm so excited about the Food For Everyone initiative and pleased to be able to contribute further to the currency. I am a yoga practicioner and am offering a Chippo Dollar with each one to one yoga class booked through my website www.jiyoga.com. Read more about this form of yoga and if you fancy trying a one to one session, start planning what you'll be spending your Chippo dollar on.