Why Not Alternative Currency?

After I explain the concept of ExchangeTree - bartering goods and services without involving money - many ask me why we don't incorporate an "alternative currency" system (such as Bitcoin or time banks).  The inclination towards alternative currency is understandable: how do you value what you have to offer without some sort of numerical measure?  How do you make sure an exchange is fair if the people involved don't know the "price" or "worth" of the item they are receiving?

In starting ExchangeTree, I wondered - maybe if that sort of numerical valuation were not involved at all, people would think differently about the things they are trading.  Maybe a math tutor usually charges $50 a session and a yoga instructor charges people $10 each, but the tutor feels the yoga instructor can provide her with a service she needs, so perhaps that's all that matters.

But just in case, and to avoid potential conflict, I encouraged people to directly state the "real world" value of what they're offering.  People may not know the amount of work and materials that go into another person's craft, causing people to accidentally lowball each other.  After starting ExchangeTree, I was anxious to see if these kinds of conflicts of misunderstanding would arise.

Yet I have been pleasantly surprised to find something different entirely:  in my exchanges so far, people seem to be more inclined to give without as much concern about a "fair" deal.  Why might this be?

I discussed this with Vie, an easy-going and vivacious woman with whom I've been exchanging who has offered me a place to stay, rides, and her handmade jewelry, and in return I've offered her voice lessons, babysitting, and to borrow my guitar and bike.

Vie with her awesome paper-bead jewelry

Vie mused, "in most situations, people feel ripped off and entitled when they don't get exactly what they want, because they're working and working for their money at jobs they don't find fulfilling. Then money seems like more of a tragedy when it's lost."

Even for those of us who do find our work fulfilling, we often grow so accustomed to being rewarded with money that we begin to equate our time and effort with money itself.

Vie continued: "But when you're doing something you love to help out someone else, it's a pleasure... it doesn't feel bad to even just give it away."

What's more - we're letting people know their value to us when we ask them for help and accept what they're offering.  When someone expresses that they're better off somehow because I've helped them with a skill I have, I feel great about myself - don't you?

I've found the same phenomenon with everyone I've exchanged with so far.  Anna told me that she usually charges $60 for her massages while I usually charge $35 for my voice lessons, and while I was eagerly brainstorming ways to make up for the difference, she insisted that she was happy to exchange a lesson for a massage despite the difference.  Similarly, I traded amazing homemade bread with Brad who continually gives me extra, and Karenna ended up giving me a bunch of things she was leaving behind before moving - including camping gear, a guitar, and a kindle - likely because we had already established a relationship through exchange of music lessons, hair cutting, and bow drilling lessons.

Bread and his Brad

Perhaps, then, valuing things based on dollars, hours, or any other numerical system doesn't have to be the only way.  When we reach out to people with our gifts and talents, we get to practice what we love in a way that brings joy to others.  We get to share what we know with people we've made connections with, and get reminded of our own value in the process.

- Julie