Barter-style crop swaps help ease cost-of-living crisis

COMMUNITY/BUSINESS

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in Comboyne, on the NSW Mid North Coast, Australia, and locals are carrying armfuls of fruit and vegetables home from a market where no money changes hands. That’s the deal at the Comboyne Farm Store, which has been hosting regular crop swaps since March 2026, when conflict in the Middle East saw fuel prices skyrocket.

“We can feel fairly isolated, especially when we ran out of diesel . . . and I think people are still struggling to come to grips with the cost of the fuel,” says the store’s owner Alastair McLaren. “But with the crop swap . . . they can trade vegetables or nuts or herbs or preserves for other things that they don’t have. [It] gives people back the power to control their destiny instead of it being out of their hands and being frustrated with the price of everything that has gone up.”

Colin Amos arrives at the crop swap with an abundance of persimmons, avocados and beans, and leaves carrying chillies, lemongrass and homemade Anzac biscuits. “This idea here today needs to grow across the country because with the cost of travel and fuel and everything, food-swapping is the way to go,” he argues. “The old barter system, it’s really I think a great move by the local people here and anyone who’s growing anything. We can chat and share information . . . one person’s knowledge shared with another is always a great plus.”

At nearby Forster, Lilly Lertsinpakdee has also started a crop swap, operating through social media and monthly meet-ups. “It’s not just about the swapping, it’s about the community connection and building capacity,” she says. “When I first came from Sydney, it was really hard for me to break in, I didn’t know anybody and it was really hard to meet other [people]. If you take the financial transaction out of anything, people just are a lot more comfortable.”

About 300 people are involved in Forster’s crop swap, either through social media or coming to organised events. “When we have a common interest, for example gardening or whatever, it seems to draw people together,” Lertsinpakdee says.

Mixed livestock farmers Rebecca and Peter Armstrong feel a sense of connection at the Comboyne swap, where they’ve brought pet mince from their farm. “This event isn’t only about swapping produce, it’s about bringing the community together and making time to chat with the people you generally don’t get time to,” says Peter. “Everyone’s financially stretched at the moment, and if they take the time to think about what they do have an abundance of, everyone’s got something they can swap.”

Lecturer and consumer psychologist at the University of Sydney School of Business, Analytics and Marketing, Christina Anthony, believes there are several reasons people are drawn to a bartering. “During periods of economic uncertainty . . . we feel anxious, we feel like we can’t control inflation, we can’t control the interest rate hikes . . . but what we can control is the resources we own.”

Anthony says reducing waste was another benefit. “One of the psychological effects of rising living costs is that people place greater value on reducing waste, and throwing away that extra produce feels much more costly today than it would’ve felt a few years ago,” she says. “Trading, sharing, borrowing, swapping, they all become much more attractive because they reduce the need for cash and they still deliver value.”

Anthony notes that community gatherings also provide a means of social interaction traditional supermarkets no longer do. “Supermarkets are excellent in that they provide convenience and these days they are hyper efficient . . . but what they’re stripping away is that social connection,” she stresses. “This is reverting back to a traditional market system, bartering . . . and there is that appeal of just being able to have a conversation with a person.”

TOP Outside the Comboyne Farm Store

PHOTO Alastair McLaren

MIDDLE Colin Amos

BOTTOM Peter and Rebecca Armstrong

PHOTOS ABC Mid North Coast/Lauren Bohane

This event isn’t only about swapping produce, it’s about bringing the community together and making time to chat with the people you generally don’t get time to. Everyone’s financially stretched at the moment, and if they take the time to think about what they do have an abundance of, everyone’s got something they can swap.

Peter Armstrong

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