At the farmers market where I sold soap today, the vendor next to me was an author and former writing instructor of mine. Along with his books, he sells eggs from his free range chickens.
Beautiful, aren't they? We bartered soap for eggs and talked about solidarity economics. This was a term I'd never heard before, but it encompasses everything from worker-owned cooperatives to local currencies to social justice issues. In short, it's buying and selling with not just money, but also the greater good in mind.
Today is a short post because, having been a vendor at two different events today, I'm low on time. But I did want to briefly post that I bought more food: bananas, an avocado and some hazelnut milk (on sale) at the co-op. And I had my first wasteful impulse purchase of the week: a take-out cup of coffee. I bought it because my author friend said, "I'm going to Bean and Leaf. Would you like a cup of coffee?" And I felt like one of Pavlov's dogs. "Yes" flew out of my mouth before I was conscious of having made a decision. I even used a disposable paper take-out cup because my travel mug was full of soup.
On the other hand, Bean and Leaf is owned by friends of mine. They run a socially-responsible business, using compostable cups, and roasting organic, fair trade coffee. I'm sure I would have turned down coffee from Dunkin Donuts.
All of my driving today was to and from the events where I was a vendor.
Consumption Totals:
Food: $7.02
Coffee: $2
Bartered: one dozen eggs
Miles Driven: 3.5
