10 Must Have Barter Skills to Survive in a Collapsed EconomyBy Anna Hunt If a major disaster or economic collapse immobilizes the existing banking system, ATMs will run out of cash very quickly, and your credit cards may stopworking. Communities will definitely go on, but the way society functions may be quitedifferent. People who have useful skills and items with which they can barter or trade are likely to benefit, perhaps even thrive. Beloware some ideas of which valuable skills to develop to increase your ability to survive and have something to trade if you find yourself in a barter-friendly world. Being able to share your skills and knowledge with other people alsocarries a high barter value. Knowinghow to grow your own food isessential for survival. In case of a short-term disaster, a few buckets of emergency storable food may be sufficient, but if you find yourself in a situation where food is limited over a longer term, knowing how to garden is a must. The best way to start gardening is to begin with small projects, like an indoor herb garden, a few containers or a coupleraised beds. You may be surprised just how many low-cost resources are available to help you along the way. Some of my favorites have beenEasy Container GardeningandGardening: A Beginners Guide. Just get your feet wet and start learning. Over time, your garden will expand as does your skill-set, and you may become interested in learning other gardening skills, such as building a low-cost greenhouse orpermaculture design, which will make your knowledgeeven more trade worthy. Knowing how to properly harvest, store and sow seeds is one of the fundamentals of successful gardening. Seeds (and of coursethe food you can grow)can become excellent items for barter. Check outthe video below to get you thinking about how to harvest and save the seeds from your garden. Food is a necessity with a very short lifespan, so during any disaster or societal disruption, the majority of people will need food. Learning specific skills involving food processing and preservation can help you take advantage of seasonal abundance so you can enjoy/sell/barter food products during off seasons and winter months. Furthermore, knowledge aboutfood preservation methods that use minimal to no electricity, such as smoking, salt curing, pickling and dehydration, are likely to hold high value in a post economic collapse economy. Even without societal disruption, creating preserved food productscan become a great way to earn an income. Knowing how to prepare food without abundant electricity, such as on a wood-burning stove or fire, is an important skillif faced with a natural disaster. We are so accustomed to using electricity driven appliances, we forget that there are methods for cooking food in sun ovens or in outdoor fire pits, which can be just as effective. Knowledge about edible plants is not only a great hobby for avid hikers and backpackers but can be a valuable survival skill. You may be surprised by just how many plants around your neighborhood can be eaten or have beneficialmedicinal properties. Learning how to identify these plants is a skill that you can perfect with a detailed guide book. Such a book is also a good resource to add to your survival library. In ourmodern lifestyle,all foods are alreadypackaged and perfectly displayed at your local grocers counter. But having the proper training and gear to hunt and fish, as well as clean what you catch, can be priceless. Having tools such as bows, slingshots, knives and spears, and knowing how to use them, would give you the ability to barter during any event that may hinder modern civilization. Other important skills when it comes to food include knowing how to raise and take care of small farm animals. If people dont have access to a steady supply of food, they will once again turn to small local food producers you! for their favorite foods. Check outYour Farm in the City to get started. You dont need the skills of a home builder, electrician or master wood worker to become a valuable asset to people in your community by offering handy work and helping with small construction projects around the home. In addition to learninghow to fix common household problems, such as a broken toilet, you can learn specific survival skills such as how to construct a water collection system, how to build a sun dehydrator, etc. Tool collection isnt really a skill, but tools are great barter items. Garden tools and supplies, as well asother tools, such as axes, hammers, saw blades, etc., are valuable assets. They can become real money if you find yourself is a post-disaster situation. Garage sales are great places to look for bargains on tools, allowing you tostock up. When the time comes, you will have what you need to be more self-sustainable,and you can loan or trade items in exchange for products and services. Every household can benefit from a good quality water filter, both for the home and for the bug-out bag. But even with a good water filter, obtaining clean water may not be a simple task if you do not have conventional water delivery service. When clean water is more difficult to come by, especially if your home or community arefaced with no municipal water delivery or no electricity to pump well water, water collection, purification and proper storage will become important. In addition to understanding what makes for effective watercollection and storage, you can stock up on supplies to build water collection systems. Even a stockpile of small items,such as water purification tablets, may prove invaluable. Like Offgrid Outpost on Facebook.Follow Offgrid Outpost on Twitter. Anna Hunt is co-owner ofOffgridOutpost.com, anonline storeoffering GMO-free healthystorable foodandemergency kits. She is also thestaff writer forWakingTimes.com.Anna is a certified Hatha yoga instructor and founder ofAtenas Yoga Center. She enjoys raising her children and being a voice for optimal human health and wellness. Visit heressential oils store here. VisitOffgrid Outpost on Facebook. This article (10 Must Have Barter Skills to Survive in a Collapsed Economy)was originally created and published byemergency foodsupplierOffgrid Outpostand is published here under aCreative Commonslicense with attribution to author Anna Hunt andOffgridOutpost.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and this copyright statement. Please contact online@offgridoutpost.comfor more info. Image Credit As long as Im not one of those poor ten who need survival skills I figure I should be okay. are you proposing that in an economic collapse, silver and gold will be unavailable? Otherwise, barter is ok, but has the problem of shelf life for products, the do I need it now? question, and will the guy I just traded with still be in business when I am ready to redeem this certificate?. Stock-piling a few silver-content pre-1965 dimes and quarters are the best way to hedge. Who cares of banks dont honor their real value? Hopefully this collapse you envision will take the FR system out with it. 