Way back in January 1976, we initiated this regular feature on bartering and trading and asked you to share stories about your non-cash transactions. Nearly ten years later it’s still going strong.
Prison Garden
In the state penitentiary, where prisoners aren’t allowed to have money, a man has to know how to barter! And when I traded one stack of magazines for another and found my first copy of MOTHER EARTH NEWS, I knew I’d discovered a treasure. After reading your magazine — which put so many of my dreams into words — I just had to get my hands into the soil!
So I bartered again … this time with the warden: I’d keep his flower bed weed-free if I could have a 20′ X 20′ plot of ground to garden. Then I traded an afghan I’d crocheted during the winter for several packages of vegetable seeds. The ground had been in clover for more than 50 years, so with the help of a shovel—the only tool I was allowed to use—and some composted scraps from the chow hall, I soon had really fine soil.
Doll Making Parties
I used to envy the people whose successful small businesses were described in MOTHER EARTH NEWS. Then, in mid-1982, I decided to join them and start a business of my own. Soft-sculptured dolls were becoming quite popular, and for less than $20, I bought several how-to books, some fabric, fiberfill, and thread, and tried my hand at doll making. The first two seemed to take forever to complete, but I was able to sell them for $40 apiece. That was enough incentive to keep me making the dolls, and I sold about one a week during the rest of 1982 and for most of 1983.
Earth Science Supplies
Last year our school’s enrollment and budget slid down while prices continued to climb, and I was left with little money to purchase supplies for my eighth-grade earth-science class. I needed some rock samples but knew that those the science-supply houses offered were expensive; they were also small and of poor quality.
