Trade systems research

Bartercard

A barter trading exchange founded in Australia in 1991, which now operates in a number of countries including NZ. Member businesses can exchange goods and services with other member businesses without using cash/cash equivalents, or having to engage in the direct two-way swap of goods and/or services. Members get credits which they can earn by providing goods/services and spend.

The hotel industry utilise Bartercard to fill unsold rooms, restaurants use Bartercard to fill tables, the wine industry uses Bartercard to increase their marketing and distribution, and trades people and professionals use Bartercard to fill their work weeks and gain new business. The Bartercard network is focused on connecting business people with each other and holds over 500 networking events per year. source

When you spend cash there is no guarantee of the return. With the Trade Dollar you know that each time you spend, it will come back to you in the form of new business from another Bartercard member.
Bartercard members are motivated to utilise your goods and services because they are paying with their Gross Profit Margin just like you, saving them cash every time they spend. source

1 bartercard dollar =  1NZD.  Essentially it seems very commercialised and still focused on gaining money which is not exactly what we're focusing on in this paper but I thought I'd add it anyway.



Another interesting thing: Silent Trade, a system generally between groups who don't speak the same language. More of a historical thing than something that's still in use.

Other Examples of currency

Although these are not examples of trade I found two other interesting travel stories.

Trade / gift giving
Keiichi Iwasaki leaves Japan to bike around the world with only $2 and has made it to 37 different countries he was able to make money along the way by accepting tips for performing magic tricks in the streets.
http://www.theplaidzebra.com/man-leaves-japan-to-bike-around-the-world-with-only-2-and-has-made-it-to-37-different-countries/

Currency
Felix Weis traveled the world using only Bitcoin as his form of currency.
These were his rules

1. No banks. And that meant no Western Union, no money exchanges, no converting USD to euros, no euros to yen. 
2. Bitcoin first. He had to use Bitcoin whenever possible.
3. Cash only for bitcoin. Recognizing that there would be times when he would need local currency, he allowed himself to do peer-to-peer exchanges of bitcoin for cash. And that led to some fun adventures.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/07/14/this-man-traveled-around-the-world-for-18-months-spending-only-bitcoin/#2409d5e261ea

Barter Systems - What they are and their history

Barter System History: The Past and Present

https://www.mint.com/barter-system-history-the-past-and-present

The history of bartering dates all the way back to 6000 BC. Introduced by Mesopotamia tribes, bartering was adopted by Phoenicians. Phoenicians bartered goods to those located in various other cities across oceans. Babylonian's also developed an improved bartering system. Goods were exchanged for food, tea, weapons, and spices. At times, human skulls were used as well. Salt was another popular item exchanged. Salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers' salaries were paid with it. In the Middle Ages, Europeans traveled around the globe to barter crafts and furs in exchange for silks and perfumes. Colonial Americans exchanged musket balls, deer skins, and wheat. When money was invented, bartering did not end, it become more organised.

Bartering became most popular in the 1930's when money was less. 

For instance, related products can be traded such as portable tablets in exchange for laptops. Or, items that are completely different can be traded such as lawn mowers for televisions. Homes can now be exchanged when people are traveling, which can save both parties money. For instance, if your parents have friends in another state and they need somewhere to stay while on a family vacation, their friends may trade their home for a week or so in exchange for your parents allowing them to use your home.

A current barter system: 

http://www.bartersys.com/

http://www.bartersys.com/Images/BSIFINALCUTVideo.mp4

Barter System - Is an interesting barter company which has bartering between shops and businesses.

This website is purely to link businesses together in barter to get them started. It is in practice today and the website informs about the benefits of barter and why people are practicing it today.

The video is very informative.

The Pixel Trade Project

The Pixel Trade

The trade of photography for necessities and travel. Shantanu Starick trades his skills and talents as a photographer. The end result is Shantanu making an end profit from the images he took using a published book. 

"Between the 25th June 2012 and the 25th November 2015 I successfully traveled to all seven
continents of the globe trading my services as a photographer for life’s basic necessities.
No currency, no contracts, only my camera and the curiosity of a cat.
In exchange for my skills as a professional photographer, my subjects provided a roof to
sleep under, food to keep the stomach happy and a ticket or ride to the next trade.
Shelter, food and transport traded for whatever photography work was needed.
After 1238 days of continuous shooting, I set off for the final 10 day trade to Antarctica, thus completing the
Pixel Trade Project. Every continent without spending a cent of money on anything in the process.
What happened during the 3 years and 5 months is a story much bigger than the photographs I captured or the goal I set out to achieve. If you are a little bit curious of what actually happened and not what I told the press over the duration of
the project, then I would like to invite you to keep in the loop with the workings of a very honest piece of writing
I’ll be working on for release in 2017."


Without spending a dime, Australian photographer Shantanu Starick has successfully completed 187 trades, traversed five continents and remained on-the-go for the last 29 months. Inspired by the "sharing economy" Starick has made a full fledged living out of travel and photography with a project he calls The Pixel Trade. Starick has photographed hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, weddings and more in exchange for the basic essentials, transportation and anything else that he needs to survive. 

http://thepixeltrade.com
https://fstoppers.com/travel/photographer-travels-world-trading-his-photo-services-46003

Group Agreement

Lecture 2

Team-name: WIP

How to work together -

Strengths + Weaknesses 

It's not just about making a product. 

As an independant group you need to:

- Brainstorm

- Ideas

- Research

- Decide

-> Waste, the value in waste - When providing/making got to think of it as a process - before/after this items creation

-> Recycling

-> Value of things

-> What can you construct 100% from recycled materials?

-> Waste cheeper for budget

- Abandoned Material - doesn't really mean waste, other ways your waste can be used? Or what is an abandoned material? 

- Waste streams/life cycles

- Other markets

- Health and safety, not just the making but everything else that goes with it. 

- Budget/Saundry

Group agreement: 

Initial agreement

Group statement  

Systems of exchange:

Money $$$ 

Currency - barter & green dollar

Time

Trade

Points 

Of equal value trader 

Paying in objects to trade

Gifting

Knowledge sharing - perspectives

MONEY

TIME-BANK

GIFTING 

CURRENCY

'Things' that can be exchanged - 

- Knowledge

- Memories

- Information

- Listen to stories

For next week:

- Find an interesting exchange

- Present the chosen group exchange on google drive - side of president 'system of exchange' 

    - Topic: Trade/Barter

    - What is exchanged?

    - How it works

    - Value

    - Pros/Cons

- One statement of team outcome on side with photo and team name

- Pinterest ideas 

Pinterest Board for ideas and possible imagery.

http://pin.it/jajshIa

Lecture 1 - Homework

Group photo and walk:

25/07/16

We went out as a group for lunch and did a slow walk, we talked and got to know one another and discussed what we were hoping to get out of this topic this year.

Lecture 1

Introduction to assignment -

Team 38
The Market of Abandon Materials - Week 11 

A market based on restoring value to the unwanted. 

To do:

- Meet as a team, go for a walk

- Get a team photo 

- Post photo and names on stream

- Do readings