Anyone need zucchini?

In our little rural community, there is a thriving barter economy, driven in large part by gardeners. Everyone’s garden is different, so everyone has different resources to trade, and different needs. I might have an excess of green beans, and can trade them for my neighbour’s excess tomatoes. This exchange of vegetables isn’t always explicit or immediate. I might provide eggplant today, and my neighbour might bring me broccoli in six months. It’s also not confined to the exchange of vegetables. A neighbour took care of my animals while I was on vacation over winter. In return, I provided her with vegetable seedlings in spring. I’ve exchanged cheese for olives, honey and peaches; and vegetables for hay and the loan of tools.

I’ve even exchanged cheese for dental work. My dentist is an avid gardener, and we exchange vegetables at every visit. I also occasionally bring him a block of goat cheese. A few years ago, he took a cheese making class and realized how much work it is to make. The next time I brought him cheese, he offered a free filling in recognition for the time he knew it took to make the cheese. He deemed it a good trade—though it would have cost me $300, the filling only took him 15 minutes to do, whereas I’d spent 5 hours on the cheese. Both of us left happy.

This free exchange of whatever each of us has in abundance makes for a supportive community. The old communist slogan, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” really does fit the “garden economy”. It makes me think that, if everyone could just grow a little patch of vegetables, the world would be a better place.