About PNW Farm Barter Faires
While farm bartering isn't exactly a new concept, this specific series of events was dreamed up by local farmer Gryph Rivas of Edelweiss Ranch & Rabbitry as a way to help bring together community and create opportunities for networking and swapping.
This event is a place for home gardeners, micro and urban farmers, large-scale farmers, homesteaders, crafters and everyone in-between to bring home-grown produce, home-canned goods, baked goods, livestock, farm supplies and equipment, handmade items and anything else related to homesteading and/or farming to swap for other goods and services. It is also a place for non-profits and volunteer groups to educate the community about how they help support us, and how we may support them in their continued success.
Farm Barter Faire, Edelweiss Ranch & Rabbitry, and all sister farms/locations encourage barter/swap/trade; if folks don't have anything to trade, it's okay to swap for dollar bills.
This event is a place for home gardeners, micro and urban farmers, large-scale farmers, homesteaders, crafters and everyone in-between to bring home-grown produce, home-canned goods, baked goods, livestock, farm supplies and equipment, handmade items and anything else related to homesteading and/or farming to swap for other goods and services. It is also a place for non-profits and volunteer groups to educate the community about how they help support us, and how we may support them in their continued success.
Farm Barter Faire, Edelweiss Ranch & Rabbitry, and all sister farms/locations encourage barter/swap/trade; if folks don't have anything to trade, it's okay to swap for dollar bills.
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About Bartering
bar·ter
verb: Exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.
noun: The action or system of exchanging goods or services without using money.
Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Usually there is no exchange of cash. Barter may take place on an informal one-on-one basis between individuals and businesses, or it can take place on a third party basis through a barter exchange company. Bartering is a way to break away from capitalism and focus on the abundance that exists when we come together and share our resources as opposed to hoarding them for ourselves. It's a way to celebrate direct democracy and resistance to corporate rule. Free yourself from relying so heavily on money, see what is possible when deciding the value of a product or service.
Bartering can serve not only as a way of trading goods and services, but also as a way to bring community together. Up until very recently (within perhaps the last three to four decades), barter and independent trade was commonplace in America. Without it, many families would never have survived. Unfortunately, American culture has been sterilized of nearly all of it is private trade skills. The idea of private barter and alternative economies has been so far removed from our daily existence that the very idea of participating in commerce without the use of money seems peculiar. As a society, we no longer produce; instead, we are completely focused on consumption and debt. We no longer repair and reuse; rather we have become completely retail-dependent. Why repair something when it can be replaced at the local department store so much quicker?
Whether we like it or not, the economic methods of barter and trade are likely to make a return sooner rather than later. With the plummeting value of the dollar, the escalating prices of products and services, inflated wholesale prices and unsustainable national debts, it is simply inevitable. We can choose to change it on our own, or we can choose to wait until fear and desperation force us to make difficult choices. We must become active producers, and we must discover practical goods and skills that will be in high demand regardless of economic conditions.
Determining the value of non-monetary assets is a very controversial subject with arguments on all sides. Ideally, accounting for the value of an item or skill should be based on the fair value of the item or skills being exchanged. Unfortunately, pricing structures for services and products can become an impediment in a direct trade if both or either party is rigidly focused on a specific monetary price rather than on the value they are obtaining. Monetary fees should be a starting point and an area of reference rather than a strict interpretation.
Rather than examining the dollar value of a trade, it’s better to consider the merit of the transaction. Is it beneficial? Does it meet your goals? Consider the value of your item based on actual cost and not the ‘resale value,’ and the same for the item you are interested in trading for. Consider what it would cost you to perform the service or to obtain the item.
verb: Exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.
noun: The action or system of exchanging goods or services without using money.
Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Usually there is no exchange of cash. Barter may take place on an informal one-on-one basis between individuals and businesses, or it can take place on a third party basis through a barter exchange company. Bartering is a way to break away from capitalism and focus on the abundance that exists when we come together and share our resources as opposed to hoarding them for ourselves. It's a way to celebrate direct democracy and resistance to corporate rule. Free yourself from relying so heavily on money, see what is possible when deciding the value of a product or service.
Bartering can serve not only as a way of trading goods and services, but also as a way to bring community together. Up until very recently (within perhaps the last three to four decades), barter and independent trade was commonplace in America. Without it, many families would never have survived. Unfortunately, American culture has been sterilized of nearly all of it is private trade skills. The idea of private barter and alternative economies has been so far removed from our daily existence that the very idea of participating in commerce without the use of money seems peculiar. As a society, we no longer produce; instead, we are completely focused on consumption and debt. We no longer repair and reuse; rather we have become completely retail-dependent. Why repair something when it can be replaced at the local department store so much quicker?
Whether we like it or not, the economic methods of barter and trade are likely to make a return sooner rather than later. With the plummeting value of the dollar, the escalating prices of products and services, inflated wholesale prices and unsustainable national debts, it is simply inevitable. We can choose to change it on our own, or we can choose to wait until fear and desperation force us to make difficult choices. We must become active producers, and we must discover practical goods and skills that will be in high demand regardless of economic conditions.
Determining the value of non-monetary assets is a very controversial subject with arguments on all sides. Ideally, accounting for the value of an item or skill should be based on the fair value of the item or skills being exchanged. Unfortunately, pricing structures for services and products can become an impediment in a direct trade if both or either party is rigidly focused on a specific monetary price rather than on the value they are obtaining. Monetary fees should be a starting point and an area of reference rather than a strict interpretation.
Rather than examining the dollar value of a trade, it’s better to consider the merit of the transaction. Is it beneficial? Does it meet your goals? Consider the value of your item based on actual cost and not the ‘resale value,’ and the same for the item you are interested in trading for. Consider what it would cost you to perform the service or to obtain the item.
To network with others in Washington who are interested in trading and bartering, please visit PNW Farm Barter Faire Networking.
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