The One Who Barters for Crafts

Barter is a system of exchange wherein goods or services are traded for other goods and services without using a medium of trade such as money.  I first learned about the barter system in my history class during my elementary school years.  The system was used by the early Filipinos who traded with the Chinese before the Spanish colonized the Philippines.  Apart from bartering, gold or metal gongs were also used as medium of exchange.

In time, "progress" came into play and money is now used in all kinds of trade.  Two of my Singapore-based friends, Pia and Dindean, reintroduced me to barter when they came to visit last April.  Dindean was raving about barter and how it still exists today and, more importantly, how it can eradicate the evil that money seemingly entails (Janet Napoles suddenly comes to mind).

If you Google barter stories, you'll find how some people exchanged everyday common items like mattresses and grocery items and luckily received a car or a house in return!  While I can't quite believe yet that that kind of luck will present itself to me, my friends got me intrigued about barter and, by another kind of luck, I'm going to get to try it out. :)

Trade School Manila is an independent community that runs on barter.  People who want to teach a class can sign up.  Individuals who are interested in learning can sign up for the classes and barter for knowledge.  The teacher basically gives out a list of the goods or services he/she wants in exchange for instruction and the students pick an item or two to bring from that list.  I find it very interesting and timely, just when I was being reintroduced to it.

Photo source here

And so,  I now come to the most important part of this post (hahaha!).  I am offering a "Washi Tape Crafts" class at Trade School Manila on November 12, 2013 (Dindean's birthday!) at 6:00-8:00 pm at the Midnight Owl Cafe in Mapagkawanggawa Street in Teacher's Village.  I know it's kinda early to be blogging about this but there are only 10 slots and as of this writing, six of those slots have already been filled.  So if you want to learn how you can use washi tapes to wrap gifts, make jewelry, and create stationery, join me!  The items for barter are super easy!  Hehehe!  Click here to sign up and find out what they are.