One of my favorite activities is to trade with other people. Not buy, but trade, swap, bargain, give, gift, and receive. Not only is it fun, but it can be very beneficial to your homestead. I’m going to share with you why and how you should join the trading game.
Why Trade
- Fun – It is really fun. It’s basically getting free stuff. I love free stuff. Sometimes I take free stuff I don’t even need. I have a problem.
- Relationship Building – Trading can create long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships between friends, farms, homesteads, and neighbors. A favor given is a favor returned. You will not regret making new relationships.
- Money Flow Issues – If you’re short on cash then it’s a great way to obtain the things you need.
- A Learning Opportunity – You broaden your knowledge base. By trading, you can learn about new resources, new animal or plant breeds, new farms, new homesteads, and other resources that could be beneficial to you.
- Help – You can help others. Enough said.
Ideas to Start Your Trading
- Raise Livestock Together – For example, some good friends of mine at Rough Cut Farm decided they wanted to raise some pigs. They had the fields and were willing to build the infrastructure for it and also were willing to put in the daily work. So they asked some of their friends, including myself, if we wanted to go in with them. We agreed we’d each buy the piglet, buy our share of the pig feed, help with the butchering, and once a week pick up spoiled food from the Food Bank and cart it to the house. It was a great deal and I learned how to smoke and make my own bacon that year. This year they asked if I’d be willing to raise some chicks for them for about three weeks until they feather out. Roughcut Farm is off the grid and they don’t get enough sunlight to power their place until mid-May. In return, they would buy six chicks for me. Well, I was already planning on raising chicks anyway, so what a deal.
- One-to-One Swapping – I’ve flat out swapped chickens for rabbits, plant starts for goat cheese, chicks for jam, rabbit fur for homemade toys, fertile chicken eggs for honey, etc. It’s really fun and if you have extra, why not swap for things your want or need. I’d suggest checking Craigslist. It’s a great resource for trading.
- Animal Breeding – Sometimes I have extra meat rabbits, more than I want to butcher, or I have too many buck rabbits. You can read about how sneaky my kids are at keeping rabbits on our post ‘Winter Animal Care’. Anyway, when I’ve posted rabbits for sale on Craigslist, I’ve often had people contact me and ask if they can just breed their females to my bucks. “Sure,” I say, “let’s negotiate.” So sometimes I get small amounts of money, but most often I trade for my pick of the kits, someone willing to tan my rabbit furs, or an offer to breed my females to their different breed of rabbit. It’s been really fun and I’ve met some very interesting characters.
- Give It Away – If you can, give things away. For example, I always give my neighbor as much rabbit poo as she wants for her garden bed. I also give my neighbor eggs free of charge. Pretty soon this creates an environment of two-way giving where items start flowing freely back and forth between your homestead, friends, and the neighbors. The gifting of things has paid us back tenfold. I have no idea where I stand with many of our friends, we’ve given each other so much and it doesn’t really matter at this point. We are also on excellent terms with our neighbors as well, which is worth its weight in gold.
- Trading Labor – Does your neighbor or friend need help to fix their fence or building? Then help them if you can. I guarantee the next time you need help at your place they’ll be right over. You can also trade some of your time for animals, plants, or food.
Trading Tips
Finally, here is some advice on how to trade well. Trading should always be a positive experience that satisfies all parties involved.
- Borrowing is not the same as trading. You should not borrow anything unless both parties are very, very clear on the arrangement. You don’t want to break something and ruin a relationship.
- Feel free to say no to a trade and don’t pressure others into a trade they are not comfortable with. Even if they are your friends. Especially if they are your friends.
- Trading can be a short or long-term arrangement, as long as it’s a happy trade, it’s all good.
- Trading is a two-way street. If you ask for something, be it a plant, some help, or an animal, make sure you reciprocate, even if it’s at a slightly later date. And stick to the agreement. The reverse is also true, if you trade something and the other person never reciprocates but keeps asking, end the relationship.
- Finally, have fun with it.
This seems like a great opportunity for everyone to share the creative trades they’ve made. I know there have to be some amazing ones out there. So, please share, what ARE the best trades you’ve ever made?
Thanks to my friends at Rough Cut Farm for asking if I want to raise chickens together, it inspired this post. The answer is, “Of course I do, always”.
