Preppers: Three Bartering Items
Kevin Felts 07.18.17
There is a thread on the forum talking about stockpiling bartering items. One of the items listed was a charger controller for solar panels.
I started wondering why someone would want to trade away an item like a solar panel when they could barter for the service? Need a battery recharged? That will be a dozen eggs, some squash, maybe some tomatoes, or a rabbit.
There is a scene in “The Book of Eli” where Denzel Washington trades some items to have his iPod recharged. Rather than trading off your solar gear, why not lease it out?
What items may be in demand?
Safe Drinking Water
Safe drinking water is the foundation of human life. Any discussion of long-term survival has to start with this topic.
My great-grandparents had a hand-dug well near a store they owned, but they did not drink water from the well. The story passed down through the generations was that the well’s water was bad, so they did not drink it. For water at the store, they went 1/2 a mile down the road to a natural spring, fill up buckets of water, and bring the water back to the store.
Their home had a well with safe drinking water, but the spring was closer to the store than their house was.
Being able to provide safe drinking water would be an invaluable resource. This could be through a well, natural spring, water filter, something that provides safe drinking water.
Solar Power
Solar is the new kerosene. One thing my great grandparents sold a lot of at the store was kerosene. My aunt told me she would go to the store and fill up a container with kerosene using a manual pump. There was no electricity, so the pumps had to be operated by hand.
Post-collapse, rather than going to the store and filling up a jug of kerosene, you would need to fill up your batteries. Bring the battery to someone with a solar panel, then go back the next day to get it.
Battery-operated flashlights and lanterns would be used in lieu of kerosene lanterns.
Livestock
Chickens, goats, cattle, pigs, guineas, or ducks. Some would be used for meat, some would be used for milk, cheese, butter, and egg production.
Getting fresh eggs or milk from your livestock would certainly be an excellent resource. Eggs are an excellent source of nutrients.
Final Thoughts
There are numerous other topics we could touch on, such as blacksmithing, plowing, seeds, and fruit trees. I wanted to touch on a few topics as examples.
Think of resources that do the work for you, such as fruit trees. Provide some care to the trees, then sell or trade the extra fruit you are not going to use.
Broody hen hatch out some chicks? Trade them off when they get a couple of months old.
What do you have that you could provide as a barter service? Because if you trade away your goods, eventually you will not have anything left.
