In some cultures it is commonplace, but in the Netherlands it has remained the case with some good initiatives to date. It can be a perfectly functioning system, it just needs to be played cleanly and agreements must be clear. More initiatives are worth more and not only when the economy is doing less well.
Credits
For example, there are systems that rely on a type of money that does not officially exist, only within the circle of affiliated entrepreneurs or individuals. It is more or less a credit system that you get paid with and can therefore be exchanged again if you need something. Business or private, they are for both target groups and can work well, as long as the rules are clear and respected. Things can sometimes go wrong with the latter, but there are also examples of systems that run well. For example, there is a Swiss system that has been running with great success for decades.
Barter
Growing your own food
But it can also be done differently and this can easily be organized with the various initiatives. One of the best known is exchanging fruit and vegetables. It works more efficiently and effectively if you put more of a crop on your field. Yet we often don’t do that, because we want to have a little bit of everything. However, if you make mutual agreements with people who also grow vegetables and/or fruit or who (also) have a nice allotment garden, then you deliver fruit and vegetables to each other at a closed market. With a bit of luck you will have more to exchange and so everyone will be better off. Moreover, there is nothing as satisfying as handing out (healthy) food.
About the date dining club
You see them more and more, the expired dining clubs. People who consciously deal with food and actually immediately combat waste. Waste of food which, because it has a date that is beyond the current one, is thrown away. But common sense is completely pushed aside and that is a shame. Because if something still looks good, isn’t moldy or smells terrible, why should you throw it away? The eating clubs create a kind of awareness of this process and you can also eat delicious food together and also serve a secondary social purpose.
Just need something
Of course you can go to the store for anything you might ever need. But that also means that in addition to needing more and more space, you also have to deal with things that are gathering dust. A waste of the material, a waste of the money spent and a waste for the other man or woman who can also use the material occasionally. There are some regional initiatives and now also via websites to borrow something similar for a minimal amount or for free if you add something meaningful yourself that can be lent out again. Whether this is an extra large pan, a mixer, an iron, a large hammer or a bicycle pump, it doesn’t matter.
Learning to learn…
We know the hairdressing schools where you can have your hair cut for a greatly reduced amount. There are always qualified professionals around and the chance that your hair will be cut up is virtually impossible. Good for their own wallet and good for the young professionals who get the opportunity to get started and really learn the trade. It is not known whether this served as an example, but what you do see is that more and more initiatives are being taken in this direction. Sometimes from schools themselves and sometimes from young professionals who get an experienced professional to guide them in the process in question. Initiatives that can be about anything, such as carpenters, metal workers, nail stylists, pedicures, clothing stylists, IT professionals or bicycle, moped and car mechanics. You can’t imagine anything so crazy and more and more are being added. For certain professional groups we talk about a small compensation (for example for renting the space), and for others we only talk about the costs of the materials.
To give!
For some it is unthinkable and for others it makes them very happy to give something away. The person who gets the chills from it should either keep aloof or try it and see if he/she can also learn to experience that pleasant feeling. But for those who have done it before, why not give in a structured way! You have a huge wardrobe and every now and then you go through it when everything starts to hang too much together. How nice is it to give away those clothes to people who can use them and enjoy them. But also tickets for a nice performance that, on reflection, you don’t or can’t go to because you don’t feel well. You can throw the cards away, but you can also give them away to someone who will do you a great favor with them. But also the starting entrepreneur who cannot find his/her path and is then simply offered professional help through a free invoice. More and more initiatives that are offered in a structured or non-structured way for those who really enjoy them. Both parties completely satisfied, a healthy heart does this well.
In conclusion
You can also develop an initiative yourself, but also look on the internet to see what initiatives already exist. It may be something you can join, otherwise you will have to do it yourself. Remember at the outset that there may certainly be a group of people who are skeptical at first. This is partly inspired by our individualistic society, where everyone takes care of themselves and we find it difficult to accept that there are people who actually do something for someone else for free.