Successful Swap

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We circulate the scrip until the squares become dog-eared ... and then call a meeting to re-issue new "money" and continue our wonderful swapping experience.

Holly Freeman
Yamhill, Ore.

Over the years I've gone through many truck—seach just a little bigger than the last—until now I own a used diesel rig. When I first bought the vehicle, I traded some old pickups and parts to a friend who owned a junkyard in return for a 20-foot flat deck. That truck and trailer have been a real blessing in getting materials for the homestead that my lady and I are reclaiming from the British Columbian forest.

For example, I once transported a carload of cows to Vancouver for a local farmer—and came back with a shipment for someone else—in exchange for lumber and expenses. Most of my arrangements, however, are for shorter runs like hauling hay in return for getting my fields plowed, or moving a small cabin in trade for 2-1/2 cords of birch firewood and a cream separator.

Last fall when we needed some manure for our garden and field, I found a farmer who swapped us 10 tons for a promise to transport something at a later date. Then, when word spread this spring that I was going to haul in more of the fertilizer, folks of all kinds began to ask if I'd bring in some for them too. By the time I finished I'd carried 33 tons of manure, paid my expenses, made a few dollars, and met a lot of new friends. I repaid the farmer by picking up 5 tons of seed potatoes 250 miles away . . . and when I unloaded them at his place we refilled the truck once again with his good ole downhome fertilizer. The next day I sold enough of the load to pay for fuel and took the rest home.

Recently, while helping to clean up a newly purchased farm, I agreed to haul away the "junk" which had accumulated over many years if the owner would let me keep anything he didn't want. Although I carted three truckloads to the dump, I carried two others—packed with old farm equipment, scrap metal, and used lumber—to my place. The materials more than covered my labor ... and I repaid a friend who helped me load on that job by working on his truck.

Once you get established in an area, bartering opportunities grow like a snowball!

Tim Hatton
Silverton, B.C.
Canada

During the past year or so some good folks here in Cambridge have been furthering the art of barter by placing containers labeled "FREE BOX"—sturdy, wooden 3' X 5' bins with hinged lids—outdoors near churches and in other prominent spots in the community.

Now I take that dress I never wear, or the shirt somebody gave me that's two sizes too big, and just drop it off in one of the Free Boxes. When I get in the mood for some new clothes, I don't waste money ... I just rummage around in the Free Box and pick up what I need.

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