Portland’s Cash-Free Bartering: From Urban Farm Collectives to Coffee Perks
Portlanders have embraced a movement of cashless commerce – a new school take, in effect, on old-school bartering. It turns out, bartering is both a natural extension of Portland’s off-kilter ethos and, as the city has become more polished and pricier with the influx of tech companies a means of preserving it. It was that instinct that lead Kevin Fiske and Josh Fitz to create the PDX Barter Market, a seasonal get together where locals trade just about anything and everything.
“Artisanal bread for hypnotherapy – that sort of thing,” Fitz says with a laugh as he walks me through the art gallery where the market is held.
“It’s not that money is evil necessarily, but it’s a way to get things done if you’re not necessarily likable,” adds Fiske. “We’re trying to show a way to have fun without money.”
Here, a look at the people and places where the cash-free lifestyle has taken root.
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Coffee Klatch
“Some people help washing dishes, others with our clothing line,” says its owner, Natasha Stille, of Necar Cafe.
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Float On
When Graham Talley opened Float On, a sensory deprivation facility, he liked the idea of using bartering to encourage as many people as possible to try out the meditative experience that comes from entering one of his womb-like saltwater tanks. So while some customers pay $65 for a 90-minute “float,” others have gotten a taste in exchange for the art that hangs on the wall.
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Floating Free
Rolling Stone correspondent David Amsden experiences sensory deprivation for his first time in a bath at Float On.
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Urban Farm Collective
“One slug gets you a pound of greens,” says Holli Prohaska, the Urban Farm Collective’s director. “If you have a lot of slugs, you can give them away to friends, family members, neighbors. It’s all just about being able to eat great, locally sustainable food without the need for money.”
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Peaceful, Quiet, Tranquil
The wall decor at Float On sets the mood for a restorative session.
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Leisurely Reading
Enjoy a good read or people watch from your barstool at Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai in Portland, Oregon.
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Food Swap Gals
Lindsay Strannigan (left), the Food Swap PDX coordinator, and Bethany Rydmark, one of the founders of Food Swap PDX and the Food Swap Network.
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Chai and Donuts
Nate Snell started Pip’s Original with his wife, Jamie Snell, and the shop hosts the PDX Food Swap.
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PDX Food Swap
Table preparations are made for PDX Food Swap.
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Rooting for the Team
Urban Farm Collective volunteers with RS correspondent, David Amsden.