How It Works

How Does the Estrela Community Work?

The idea is that participants exchange goods and services with each other. So the first thing a new participant does is to list things they have for sale and the services they can offer others. These are added to our online goods and services directory, which other participants use (a bit like yellow pages or our local www.e-beira.com) to find things they want or need.

When a participant finds something they want, they contact the supplier through our private message system. The two participants then arrange details of the exchange -- the cost in Estrelas and the practicalities of actually making the exchange.

When the actual exchange takes place, the buyer fills in a 'paper record' of the transaction and gives half to the supplier. Later the supplier enters the details from the paper record into the Estrela accounting system (via the website). Before the Estrelas are transferred, the buyer must log in and approve the transaction. As soon as that is done, the account is settled -- meaning that the buyer's account is debited and the supplier's is credited.

And that's about it, really. If it sounds simple, that's because it is. Anyone with access to the Internet can be a part of our community!