G'morning!
We're not planning on trading many material items. I'm a Naturopath and will help *anyone* who's sick. IF they can offer something in return, it will be accepted. If not, I will still help.
DH & I were also professional musicians for decades. (Still are on a limited basis.) We can do gatherings and get-togethers with acoustic instruments. That's usually something that's in demand. They say, "Music soothes the savage beast." And I believe the same is true of the nerves of people who are going through hard times. Music can bring a community together. (Note to self: get more guitar, mandolin and violin strings etc. ) Recorders don't wear out and neither do blues harps & harmonicas.
I have several degrees and an advanced degree in photography, and I'm storing film and am in the process of buying (in a couple of weeks) what it takes to develop it. When digital goes down the drain along with the technology that enables it, I believe people will still *always* want at least ONE picture of their wedding, family gathering, new baby, or other emotionally important event. I will (God willing) be able to deliver that service - at least for a good long while.
I'm also a writer, and so can write stories, serials (like some others here), which folks can read and pass around. People need new "brain food" to keep them going and you really can't beat a good story. Jesus knew that!
Both DH and I have extensive experience as counselors, and will use those skills in the same way I hope to use my medical skills.
We home-schooled our own children and can educate others just as easily. Not just in the "three 'R's'" but in survival skills too.
I garden year round and can teach people how to convert a room in their home to do the same. (We have already done this and use it now.) We have stored and frozen (yes, they will germinate) an abundant supply of non-hybrid seeds. I believe they will be *very* useful as barter items, and are the only material items we plan to use as such.
DH & I can teach people to build a shelter for next to nothing, in very little time.
Inexpensive tents will be great barter items for families with no shelter, until they can build their own. You can get a pretty decent family tent for $60 from Wally-world in these parts. I know I get scorned for it here, but I still maintain that Teepee's are a terrific investment! They are, however, rather more expensive than tents, but a whole family can live in one year round even in Canadian winters at 50 below (and they are portable should you need to be on the move). The natives did it for years here and many still do.
We do have one other material item I almost forgot about - coffee. We don't drink coffee in our house - not the regular kind anyway (we drink decaf international coffee's and NO - they are not for trade
), but we have a respectable supply (in our freezer) of regular coffee sealed in Mylar, collected from years of hotel stays where we didn't drink the complimentary coffee left for us. We take them home along with the personal shampoos, soaps etc that we prefer not to use in favor of using our own. (So I guess we have personal soaps & shampoos to give out to those who need them too.)
I can also knit, sew, and make Mukluks and Moccasins. I don't think I'll have time to do that for others though. They take a while to make and I can see to my own family but I doubt I'll have time to make them for others. What I CAN do is TEACH others HOW to make them for their own families.
I believe teaching what we know will be very valuable in the coming months and years - if we are spared. Perhaps knowledge is the best bartering item of all.
Love to all - Jesse
