My Ithaca Hours Photo on NPR Site
By Shira | Aug 21, 09 12:28 PM
The Planet Money blog on NPR featured a story about a new local currency that's getting started in Brooklyn, and they used one of my photos. (Thanks for letting me know, Lia!)
I think it's pretty cool that the local currency idea is spreading, but I feel even more excited about bartering and gift economies that allow for more flexibility and sharing. It's certainly been working out for us this summer. We've barely spent any cash on produce, opting instead to make websites, do video documentation, design flyers, etc. And of course, we're growing our own veggies, too!
Last weekend we were in NYC and we brought 1.5 pounds of chanterelles to our friend Yana in Brooklyn. She had seen my photos of foraged mushrooms on Facebook and suggested I ship some to her in exchange for some free legal advice. I wasn't sure about the logistics of mailing mushrooms, but since we were already heading to the city, we went foraging the day before our trip and brought a bunch up to Yana. She's helping us out with contracts around power of attorney and medical stuff - us queer folk can never be too careful.
The next big question is taxes. Technically, you're supposed to declare bartered transactions, but how do you put a monetary value on these things? I think we might have to drop the word "barter" and focus on the ideas of sharing and gifting. Any thoughts out there?
I think it's pretty cool that the local currency idea is spreading, but I feel even more excited about bartering and gift economies that allow for more flexibility and sharing. It's certainly been working out for us this summer. We've barely spent any cash on produce, opting instead to make websites, do video documentation, design flyers, etc. And of course, we're growing our own veggies, too!
Last weekend we were in NYC and we brought 1.5 pounds of chanterelles to our friend Yana in Brooklyn. She had seen my photos of foraged mushrooms on Facebook and suggested I ship some to her in exchange for some free legal advice. I wasn't sure about the logistics of mailing mushrooms, but since we were already heading to the city, we went foraging the day before our trip and brought a bunch up to Yana. She's helping us out with contracts around power of attorney and medical stuff - us queer folk can never be too careful.
The next big question is taxes. Technically, you're supposed to declare bartered transactions, but how do you put a monetary value on these things? I think we might have to drop the word "barter" and focus on the ideas of sharing and gifting. Any thoughts out there?
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