This article was written by Anna Hunt and originally published at Offgrid Outpost.com.
Editor’s Comment: Sometimes it is astounding to think how vulnerable and prone to collapse society has become. In many ways, there is every chance that civilization could have become vibrant and largely self-sustaining. But that isn’t the direction that the larger system took at all. Instead, it chose a disposable economy, with planned obsolescence and extreme dependence.
Individuals, however, can still make that choice. It is possible to enjoy the fruits of modern life, while preparing your family for survival conditions that could strip society down to the bare basics. If you invest in your own pipeline to food, water, fuel, knowledge of nature, DIY skills and the like, you can become highly immune to unstable market conditions and the collapse of civilization.
10 Must Have Barter Skills to Survive in a Collapsed Economy
by Anna Hunt
Most people living in the United States and many other industrialized countries consider bartering as an antiquated method for exchanging goods and services. We have all become very accustomed to fiat currency, credits cards and digital transactions, so bartering just seems strange. But it wasn’t so long ago that bartering was commonly used and worked very effectively.
If a major disaster or economic collapse immobilizes the existing banking system, ATMs will run out of cash very quickly, and your credit cards may stop working. Communities will definitely go on, but the way society functions may be quite different. People who have useful skills and items with which they can barter or trade are likely to benefit, perhaps even thrive.
Below are some ideas of which valuable skills to develop to increase your ability to survive and have something to trade if you find yourself in a barter-friendly world. Being able to share your skills and knowledge with other people also carries a high barter value.
1. Growing Food
Knowing how to grow your own food is essential for survival. In case of a short-term disaster, a few buckets of emergency storable food may be sufficient, but if you find yourself in a situation where food is limited over a longer term, knowing how to garden is a must.
The best way to start gardening is to begin with small projects, like an indoor herb garden, a few containers or a couple raised beds. You may be surprised just how many low-cost resources are available to help you along the way. Some of my favorites have been Easy Container Gardening and Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide.
Just get your feet wet and start learning. Over time, your garden will expand as does your skill-set, and you may become interested in learning other gardening skills, such as building a low-cost greenhouse or permaculture design, which will make your knowledge even more trade worthy.
2. Harvesting and Storing Seeds
Knowing how to properly harvest, store and sow seeds is one of the fundamentals of successful gardening. Seeds (and of course the food you can grow) can become excellent items for barter. Check out the video below to get you thinking about how to harvest and save the seeds from your garden.
3. Food Processing and Preservation
Food is a necessity with a very short lifespan, so during any disaster or societal disruption, the majority of people will need food. Learning specific skills involving food processing and preservation can help you take advantage of seasonal abundance so you can enjoy/sell/barter food products during off seasons and winter months. Furthermore, knowledge about food preservation methods that use minimal to no electricity, such as smoking, salt curing, pickling and dehydration, are likely to hold high value in a post economic collapse economy. Even without societal disruption, creating preserved food products can become a great way to earn an income.
POTTED MEAT: A LOST SKILL OF LONG TERM MEAT STORAGE
BACK TO BASICS: HOW TO MAKE AND PRESERVE LARD
OLD FASHIONED PRESERVING-GRANDPA’S RECIPE FOR CURED SMOKED HAM
4. Cooking and Food Preparation
Knowing how to prepare food without abundant electricity, such as on a wood-burning stove or fire, is an important skill if faced with a natural disaster. We are so accustomed to using electricity driven appliances, we forget that there are methods for cooking food in sun ovens or in outdoor fire pits, which can be just as effective.
5. Plant Gathering
Knowledge about edible plants is not only a great hobby for avid hikers and backpackers but can be a valuable survival skill. You may be surprised by just how many plants around your neighborhood can be eaten or have beneficial medicinal properties. Learning how to identify these plants is a skill that you can perfect with adetailed guide book. Such a book is also a good resource to add to your survival library.
5 FORGOTTEN PLANTS OUR ANCESTORS USED FOR FOOD
6. Hunting and Fishing
In our modern lifestyle, all foods are already packaged and perfectly displayed at your local grocer’s counter. But having the proper training and gear to hunt and fish, as well as clean what you catch, can be priceless. Having tools such as bows, slingshots, knives and spears, and knowing how to use them, would give you the ability to barter during any event that may hinder modern civilization.
7. Raising Animals
Other important skills when it comes to food include knowing how to raise and take care of small farm animals. If people don’t have access to a steady supply of food, they will once again turn to small local “food producers” – you! – for their favorite foods. Check out Your Farm in the City to get started.
8. Handy Work
You don’t need the skills of a home builder, electrician or master wood worker to become a valuable asset to people in your community by offering handy work and helping with small construction projects around the home. In addition to learning how to fix common household problems, such as a broken toilet, you can learn specific survival skills such as how to construct a water collection system, how to build a sun dehydrator, etc.
THE SKILLS THAT WILL REALLY MATTER AFTER AN ECONOMIC MELTDOWN
9. Tool Collection
Tool collection isn’t really a skill, but tools are great barter items. Garden tools and supplies, as well as other tools, such as axes, hammers, saw blades, etc., are valuable assets. They can become real money if you find yourself is a post-disaster situation. Garage sales are great places to look for bargains on tools, allowing you to stock up. When the time comes, you will have what you need to be more self-sustainable, and you can loan or trade items in exchange for products and services.
10. Water Collection, Purification and Storage
Every household can benefit from a good quality water filter, both for the home and for the bug-out bag. But even with a good water filter, obtaining clean water may not be a simple task if you do not have conventional water delivery service.
When clean water is more difficult to come by, especially if your home or community are faced with no municipal water delivery or no electricity to pump well water, water collection, purification and proper storage will become important. In addition to understanding what makes for effective water collection and storage, you can stock up on supplies to build water collection systems. Even a stockpile of small items, such as water purification tablets, may prove invaluable.
Source: shtfplan.com
We are straying away from our roots on a dangerous road from which there will be no turning back. And the good and bad news is that we are the last generation that can truly do something about it.
We no longer know how to live without refrigerators, without cars, without phones or without supermarkets.
What will you do tomorrow if you simply are unable to buy things?
Saving our forefathers ways starts with people like you and me actually relearning these skills and putting them to use to live better lives through good times and bad. Our answers on these lost skills comes straight from the source, from old forgotten classic books written by past generations, and from first hand witness accounts from the past few hundred years. Aside from a precious few who have gone out of their way to learn basic survival skills, most of us today would be utterly hopeless if we were plopped in the middle of a forest or jungle and suddenly forced to fend for ourselves using only the resources around us. To our ancient ancestors, we’d appear as helpless as babies.
In short, our forefathers lived more simply than most people today are willing to live and that is why they survived with no grocery store, no cheap oil, no cars, no electricity, and no running water. Just like our forefathers used to do, The Lost Ways Book teaches you how you can survive in the worst-case scenario with the minimum resources available. It comes as a step-by-step guide accompanied by pictures and teaches you how to survive like they did 150 years ago.
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WHAT TO READ NEXT:
A RETURN TO THE OLD PATHS: HOW TO MAKE PEMMICAN LIKE THE NATIVE AMERICANS
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SEVEN CLASSIC GREAT DEPRESSION ERA RECIPES GRANDMA USED TO MAKE
POTTED MEAT: A LOST SKILL OF LONG TERM MEAT STORAGE
BACK TO BASICS: HOW TO MAKE AND PRESERVE LARD
THE BEST WAY TO STOCKPILE VEGETABLES OFF-GRID
OLD FASHIONED PRESERVING-GRANDPA’S RECIPE FOR CURED SMOKED HAM
HOW TO MAKE GUNPOWDER THE OLD FASHIONED WAY
SURVIVAL HERBAL RECIPES FROM OUR ANCESTORS
This article was written by Anna Hunt and originally published at Offgrid Outpost, published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and this copyright statement.Please contact [email protected] for more info. Like Offgrid Outpost on Facebook. Follow Offgrid Outpost on Twitter.
Anna Hunt is co-owner of OffgridOutpost.com, an online store offering GMO-free healthy storable food and emergency kits. She is also the staff writer for WakingTimes.com. Anna is a certified Hatha yoga instructor and founder of Atenas Yoga Center. She enjoys raising her children and being a voice for optimal human health and wellness. Visit her essential oils store here. Visit Offgrid Outpost on Facebook.