Six-thousand years ago, the Phoenicians bartered as they traveled the world, trading weapons, teas, spices and food. When they ruled the world, the Romans bartered goods and services for salt, a precious and rare commodity at that time. During the Middle Ages, Europeans traded their furs and crafts for Asians’ perfumes and silk.
The barter system eventually gave way to the monetary one, but during the Great Depression, Americans returned to the system, trading all manner of goods and services. Sometimes a dozen eggs paid for a doctor’s visit.
Perhaps, then, given these economically challenging times, it is no surprise that bartering is making a come-back. Despite autumn’s bite, several dozen people gathered in Mount Shasta City Park Saturday afternoon to exchange their homemade jams and breads, potatoes, eggs, zucchini, teas and flower seeds.
“My son and I came to see what was going on,” Amanda Cooper said as her three year old son Evan scampered on the grass. “This is the first time it’s been outside; it used to be held at the Flying Lotus, and we’re a bit cold, but I’m glad we came.
“I usually bake muffins, and I’ve gotten all sorts of things for them. Today I got Tony’s delicious bread. They let me use money because that’s what I could trade today,” she laughed. “Next time I hope my apples or pears are ready. I’d trade them for I Bob’s Kombucha.”
Kombucha is a fermented tea made from mushroom and is considered by many to be an excellent health tonic. A local grower usually has quarts to trade.
Francis Mangels, local master gardener, brought zucchini chips, cucumbers, and lettuce to trade, all grown in his 6,000 foot garden.
Kate Korbel usually makes chicken matzo ball soup and roasted garlic oil. “It’s divine,” commented one shopper. Saturday she brought pints of Mount Shasta plum, peach and ginger peach jam.
Stone mason and bread baker Tony Corsini brought a dozen loaves of garlic, onion and herb bread baked in his cob oven. Leslie Ellorin brought dozens of organic eggs, Oriental poppy seeds, and tomatoes.
All food is fresh and organic. Jewelry, clothing and art are handmade.
According to Mt. Shasta Trader’s Co-Op founders, Leslie Ellorin and Tony Corsini, bartering is more than a tool for surviving economically challenging times.
“We’re trying to connect community, to encourage people to share their talents and resources,” notes Corsini. “We want the Co-Op to be an incentive for people to create things, to do the things they love, and then share them. It’s about community and connection.”
“Bartering is about values, “Ellorin said. “It’s more about satisfying needs than just using money to get what we want. The Co-op, which happens once a month, is a social event. It builds self esteem, because people discover that what they grow or what they create has value. It’s about learning how to go to market.”
Ellorin said the Trader’s Co-Op teaches participants to appreciate the worth of their own goods and services.
“One time I brought some sprouts to trade. I’d started them about four days before the Co-Op, and an artist brought the most beautiful cutting board to trade. It was inlaid, made with this gorgeous wood, and he wanted my jar of seeds. The board was easily worth $50, so I told him no, and I traded the sprouts for some fruit, I think. Well, the artist was mad. He really wanted my sprouts. I learned then that exchange is about both people getting what they want. Barter is not about the money, but the connection, about what people believe is important to get for what they have to offer.”
Ellorin and Corsini maintain four on-going lists that people can use when bartering. One list is titled, Services for Trade; the second is Services Desired; the third is Items for Sale or Trade, and the fourth is Free. The lists extend the bartering system opportunities beyond the once-monthly events.
“During our first Co-Op, in February 2009, those lists created a miracle,” Ellorin laughed. “There was a single mom whose car was broken. She needed to borrow a car to get to work. And there was another woman, a mother, who was taking her three sons to Redding for fiddle lessons and she needed a space locally for her kids to get their lessons. We got those two talking, and the single mom got a car for the winter until she could afford to have her own car repaired, and the three kids got the space they needed for their lessons.”
“There’s a lot going on in local food,” Ellorin claims. “It’s amazing how much can happen. People want to know how to support themselves, to be in more command of their lives. The Barrs have started an Egg Buyer’s Club, right here in Mount Shasta. Farm fresh eggs are delivered to town direct from local farmers for easy pick-up. Of course there’s the Farmer’s Market. But our Co-Op offers more than food. People have swapped cars, have traded massage, exchanged poetry, done card readings.”
“You can, literally, trade manure for a boat,” laughs Corsini. “Now that’s a trade."
The next Trader’s Co-Op will be held Saturday, Sept. 25, from 1 to 3 p.m. Corsini and Ellorin encourage those interested in bringing their wares to exchange or to sign up on one of their lists to call 926-6836.
