The pavilion at Interlochen’s Green Lake Township Memorial Park was filled with community members during the first Barter Fair held October 2021. Photo by Blase.
The Spring 2022 Barter Fair takes place 1:30-5:30 p.m., April 24, at Green Lake Township Memorial Park, 5435 Karlin Road, Interlochen.
By Stewart A. McFerran
My career as a juggler never took off. Some say I dropped the ball. Nevertheless, I still had the juggling balls and decided to take them to the Barter Fair at the Green Lake Township Memorial Park near Interlochen this fall. I had other items as well, such as a hammock and a large pressure cooker used for canning. I loaded up the treasures and displayed them on a picnic table under the park pavilion.
A young girl at the fair seemed interested in the colorful juggling balls, so I picked them up to see if I remembered how to juggle. Sure enough, it all came back, and the bright balls cascaded through the air above the little girl. I dropped them one at a time in front of the tiny barterer. Despite that, she just stood and looked at the balls on the ground. Her mom said she wanted them. I had to ask, “So, what you got?”
My request was in accordance with the rule stated by LEAP, the organizers of the event, that while no money could change hands, individuals could ask for something in return for items they intended to exchange.
The little girl did not appear to have anything to trade and was tight lipped. She was a strong negotiator. Her mother stepped in and suggested they perform a song and a dance. So that is what I received for my juggling balls. The mother and daughter sang and danced for me. It seemed a fitting end to my juggling career.
Lots of other transactions took place that day and, more importantly, old friends were met again and new friends made. I like the dynamic of trading items that have personal significance for items others value.
Making a LEAP by bartering
LEAP is Leadership in Education and Action Partners. The group organized the Oct. 24 Barter Fair in Interlochen. In LEAP’s notice about the fair, the group invited everyone to “an afternoon of swapping, trading and upcycling. From unwanted items to carefully crafted goods ⸺ anything goes. The only rule is that money won’t get you anything.
I spoke to Andrew Stump, a permaculturist (one who uses renewable resources to produce food and other life-sustaining necessities) and a LEAP member.
“Having a bartering fair on a regular basis helps bring people back to a more grounded understanding of what it is we really need in our community to be resilient and to thrive and to be happy,” Stump said. “The barter fair allows us to recycle things within our community.”
LEAP plans to host another fair next spring.
Social media communities rally barterers
On Nov. 5, in the “Happenings In and Around Mesick” Facebook group page, a member posted, asking, “…anyone interested in putting together a barter system in the area? Just wondering if there is interest in Mesick.”
Sixty-seven people “liked” the post and 99 people commented. One of the interested parties posted: “…I have been saying for years and years, we need to get back to bartering. Unfortunately, though, our bills can’t be paid this way.”
Another member responded: “… exactly! That’s why I’m really hoping this will take off and we can build a community that can become more reliant on each other and less on society as a whole 😊 “
To which the first member replied: “Yea I’m thinking if we could find some place to meet and make connections as well, we can create a mutual assistance community at the same time…”
Turns out, another group Facebook page called “Unofficial Kaleva’s Kaleidoscope” has a bartering effort underway. Thirty-one people liked or loved and five people shared Tricia Boucha’s Nov. 6 post: “Saw a barter post on (the) Mesick page, thought I’d try here too, if allowed. I’m willing to barter my chef/cooking/baking services for a handyman. Things I don’t have the strength or tools to accomplish. I’m in Kaleva.”
Boucha, a mosaic artist and instructor, told us she hasn’t found anyone yet, but she has previously bartered services such as cleaning, cooking and other domestic services for handyman work.
“I would welcome anyone,” she said. “I no longer offer cleaning, etc. Just art, lessons or cooking.”
Due to noticeable interest in bartering on the Mesick “Happenings” Facebook page, some group members created the “Mesick area Homesteaders and Barter group” page on Nov. 12.
One member posted: “Hello all. I have a smallish hobby farm and offer different animals, goats, goat milk (I like to trade milk for soaps), ducks, chickens & eggs, quails and pickled quail eggs. I also offer some farm services such as hoof trimming, disbudding and can help teach different farming techniques.”
Others replied with goods they could trade and services they might provide, such as cleaning, baking, crocheting, massages and facials.
Another posted that they wished to contact the local community center to see about renting the space for a potluck with interested others, to draw up lists of their skills and share copies with everyone.
“… and we can build a more connected self-sufficient community. It’s my hope anyhow.”
Homesteaders barter home-raised and homemade foods and goods
Jennifer Devine is a homesteader living in Dublin. She said homesteaders barter goods such as eggs, processed chickens, canned goods and salves for “time/help.” For instance, she trades fresh eggs to a store owner who gives her credit for items she needs. Someone else helped cut large trees on her property and, in return, she and her husband will help that person when he needs it. Though the couple doesn’t do a lot of bartering, she said “other homestead ladies and I definitely like to share and trade and try to keep items around equal value.”
Meanwhile, back in Green Lake Township Memorial Park, I bartered my pressure cooker for jars of dilly beans and homemade salsa, and the hammock for jars of carrots ⸺ plus I got a shiny new lamp for a giant wooden spoon. I will always remember the song and dance in the park pavilion, and I’ll never forget how to juggle.
To learn more about LEAP, go to https://nwmileap.org/
Stewart McFerran illuminates current environmental issues in a historic context. He hopes readers will gain an understanding of ways people interact with their environment. He is our Freshwater Reporter Ambassador-At-Large.
