Posted on 04/28/2012 2:26:45 PM PDT by blam
The Barter Value Of Skills
Tess Pennington
April 26th, 2012
This article has been generously contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. After joining the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross in 1999 Tess worked as an Armed Forces Emergency Services Center specialist and is well versed in emergency and disaster management & response. You can follow her regular updates on Preparedness, Homesteading, and a host of other topics at www.readynutrition.com.
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Recently, we talked about the necessity of learning skills to aid us in a survival situation. Don’t underestimate the value of those skills for barter. If the grid goes down, people may be left with no access to medical care, serious gaps in their knowledge or the inability to repair vital items. If you possess those abilities, your skills will be in high demand.
In the situation of economic collapse, there will be a revival of the barter system. To barter means to exchange your goods or services for someone else’s goods or services. To complete a satisfactory barter transaction, each person must desire something from the other party. Despite the potential of desperation, it’s morally imperative to be fair to the party that is most in need. Remember that one day, that person who is most in need may be you.
Right now, if something breaks, the replacement is only as far away as the closest Wal-Mart. However, in the event of an economic collapse or a disaster that causes the trucks to stop running, it won’t be easy to replace broken items. The ability to repair broken items will be in very high demand. It will be a rare skill, because we live in a world of planned obsolescence. Few people actually know how to repair an item in a sturdy and long-lasting way.
Brandon Smith of Alt-Market calls this about bringing back the American Tradesman:
“If you wish to survive after the destruction of the mainstream system that has babied us for so long,” he says, “you must be able to either make a necessary product, repair a necessary product, or teach a necessary skill. A limited few have the capital required to stockpile enough barter goods or gold and silver to live indefinitely. The American Tradesman must return in full force, not only for the sake of self preservation, but also for the sake of our heritage at large.”
Check out Brandon’s excellent article on the barter system here.
There is no limit to the skills that could be used in a barter situation. Some examples would be:
First Aid for traumatic injuries Sutures
Midwifery/delivering babies
Dental care
Herbal remedies
Animal Husbandry
Veterinary Skills
Teaching children
Teaching skills to adults like knitting, gardening, machine repair, etc.
Mechanic’s skills: the ability to fix solar generators, small machines, automobiles, etc.
Other repair skills: the ability to repair tools, woodstoves, plumbing, etc.
Gardening/Farming
Construction
Gunsmithing/Weapon repair
Security services
Food Preservation
Sewing/Mending
Making soap and candles
Blacksmithing
If the grid goes down or the economy collapses in a long-term way, gone are the days of making your living doing IT work or ringing through purchases at the grocery store. You will need to become not only self-sufficient, but a provider of goods or services.
Consider what abilities and knowledge you possess that can be shared with others. Nobody can do it alone – there is always going to be something you need that you can’t provide for yourself.
Preppers’ PING!
That’s a good idea re: the soda bottles. IF you are able to predict how much pressure you will end up with after brewing.
I’ve had such varied results with the pressure, I take nothing for granted!
Actually, alot of my water store is in quart size Gatorade bottles. And I have probably 200 of the Grolsch bottles saved.
Purified sugar could be an issue. And getting or having a good, non-feral yeast is a must.
I need to hit the brew store and pick up a few things to do a batch of stout. Probably grab a half dozen yeast packs then, too.
It wouldn’t be easy. Two weeks after the power went out, sanitizing everything to do a brew would be a major, major task!
What would be the going rate for a six pack? A gallon of gas?
The 2 liter PET bottles will withstand more pressure without rupture than the glass bottles will.
Purified sugar and special yeast is not required. I've made a 9% drink from cactus pears, wild plums, and baking yeast. And it was good.
Didn't taste like the swill beer you buy at the Quicky Mart, but who wants Bud Lite anyway?
Two weeks after the power went out, sanitizing everything to do a brew would be a major, major task!
If a man can't light a fire, and boil water, he has problems that beer won't help. ;)
/johnny
Does baking yeast work?
I have a bunch of various yeasts I got at the brew store. The best and most efficient use would be to use small amounts of the yeast in a pack to make a good starter. You could then probable get a half dozen to a dozen runs out of one pack.
Couple years back I also bought a one pound pack of dried Distillers Yeast. Been in the bottom of my fridge ever since. Probably enough yeast in that one pack to brew 500,000 gallons of beer!
Or cider. Or whatever.
I still like the Safale. Overall, seems to give me the best, most consistent results.
I have also saved some of the trub from previous brews to pitch the next brew.
Sure having some Coopers malt extract, some ultra-refined sucrose and a special yeast is nice, but I roughed it for a while in a remote mountainside. You go with what you have and learn to make it better.
Hooch is sugars, water, and yeastie beasties. Period. Adjust for flavor and strength.
Humans have been doing this for thousands of years.
I do like having my store bought hygrometer, but in a pinch, I could make one. And I've always got iodine on hand for a starch test.
And after all, if it's TEOTWAWKI, and the stuff tastes like crap, you can always distill it and mix it with something that tastes good. ;)
/johnny
I’m working on the ‘gunsmithing/weapons repair category. I’m already familiar with medicines and pharmaceuticals ... I’ll move to ‘trauma aid/emergency trauma treatment’ next.
I’m working on the ‘gunsmithing/weapons repair’ category. I’m already familiar with medicines and pharmaceuticals ... I’ll move to ‘trauma aid/emergency trauma treatment’ next.
How about a john boat and a 25HP evinrude?
My wife can sit down and make practically any article of clothing from a bolt of fabric and recently went one better than that. She traveled to take some classes on pattern making and now, after much practice, is making her own patterns. You know like those McCall's patterns you used to see in five and dime stores.
I watched her making one recently; it takes a lot of detail work and is not a common skill at all. This had nothing to do with prepping but was more of a continuation of her work and interest in clothing and fashion. While I was watching her, it dawned on me that it is a skill that is sure to have some demand at some point. Not to mention her sewing skills, she already barters bespoke (for all you hillbillys that means custom-made to the buyer's specification) clothing for services like hair coloring and styling.
I live in a very small, gated communiity and most in here are older retired people. In an emergency, such as an approaching hurricane, many are taken away by family members to be with them. I won’t have enough provisions to save the ones who would be left. I could give them medical care.
My sister-in-law and her husband came for a visit last week. They are liberal communists of the worst kind. I love them but that’s what they are and they admit it.
So, they told me this time that global warming is absolutely true and we did it to ourselves and where they live, food wouldn’t go after global warming did its thing.
I said a sentence that had the word “prepper” in it. The husband, who is a genuine genius, said, “What does that mean?” I said, “What?” He said, “that word ‘prepper’, what does that mean?”
I couldn’t believe it - the only word they knew was “survivalist” and that was a word, to them, for crazy people who had guns and hid out in the woods.
I said, “prepper” is the word for people like me who prepare for emergencies. They know I have “stuff” put away for hurricanes, but they have no idea what is really here. They have never asked, and I’ve never made a point to tell them.
They are important to me and I have enough food and supplies for them so they can come here if bad things happen.
I just thought it was totally amazing they didn’t know what the word “prepper” meant.
My fear is that it's going to be like that Twilight Zone episode with the fallout shelter.
“go” should have been “grow”
Ok, before I up the ante, I got to see a picture of his wife.
5.56mm
Good to see you again.
/johnny
Don't you owe me a six pack of Heineken?
Good to see your moniker.
5.56mm
Stop on by.
/johnny
Even in the 1950s it was common for Oklahoma families to have pinto beans and cornbread for dinner once a week.
Maybe a hold-over...or a reminder.
Yes. One can only do so much. I’m trying to get some small agriculture going, and will hopefully be able to help a few others out too. There aren’t many people near here, though, and likely fewer within the next five years or so (aging neighbors moving closer to cities from here). The weather here is the only imminent threat—somewhat more like Mars than most places.
I make a good hot water cornbread.
/johnny
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