As cost of living rises, old-school bartering makes a comeback in Australia

In the small town of Comboyne, Australia, a traditional practice is making a comeback as residents gather to exchange goods without a single cent changing hands. The Comboyne Farm Store has been hosting regular crop swaps since March, a response to the soaring fuel prices triggered by global conflicts.

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We can feel fairly isolated, especially when we ran out of diesel … and I think people are still struggling to come to grips with the cost of the fuel.

Alastair McLaren, owner of the store, initiated the crop swap amid rising living costs. "We can feel fairly isolated, especially when we ran out of diesel… and I think people are still struggling to come to grips with the cost of the fuel," McLaren said. He added that the crop swap allows residents to trade items like vegetables, nuts, herbs, or preserves for things they lack. "It gives people back the power to control their destiny instead of it being out of their hands and being frustrated with the prices of everything that have gone up."

Colin Amos, a participant, arrived with an abundance of persimmons, avocados, and beans, and left with chillies, lemongrass, and homemade Anzac biscuits. He believes the concept needs to spread nationwide. "The old barter system, it's really I think a great move by the local people here and anyone who's growing anything," Amos said. "We can chat and share information… one person's knowledge shared with another is always a great plus."

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But with the crop swap … they can trade vegetables or nuts or herbs or preserves for other things that they don't have.

Further south in Forster, Lilly Lertsinpakdee also launched a crop swap this year, utilizing social media and monthly meet-ups. She emphasizes that the initiative is about more than just trading goods; it's about building community connections and local capacity. "When I first came from Sydney, it was really hard for me to break in, I didn't know anybody and it was really hard to meet other [people]," Lertsinpakdee shared. "If you take the financial transaction out of anything, people just are a lot more comfortable."

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[It] gives people back the power to control their destiny instead of it being out of their hands and being frustrated with the prices of everything that have gone up.

About 300 people are involved in Lertsinpakdee's crop swap. Mixed livestock farmers Rebecca and Peter Armstrong experienced this sense of connection at the Comboyne swap, bringing pet mince from their farm to trade. "This event isn't only about swapping produce, it's about bringing the community together and making time to chat with the people you generally don't get time to," Mr. Armstrong noted. "Everyone's financially stretched at the moment, and if they take the time to think about what they do have…"

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This idea here today needs to grow across the country because with the cost of travel and fuel and everything, food-swapping is the way to go.