Barter system a lifeline for firms

IT’S the most ancient form of trading, dating back to when pre-historic men started exchanging livestock.

But now cash-strapped traders in a Co Cork town are breathing life into their businesses by turning to bartering.

The innovative scheme in Kinsale allows businesses with cashflow problems to exchange services without any cash changing hands.

The community-based website, swaportrade.com, is seen as a lifeline by many struggling traders in the coastal town who are facing into an uncertain winter.

And the fledgling service could be a blueprint for similar-sized towns across the country, as businesses unable to secure cash or overdrafts from banks look for ways to survive the downturn.

Local auctioneer Kevin Kelleher came up with the idea four years ago when he was setting up a business premises in the tourist town.

“I bought an auctioneering business in 2007 and wanted to put some box plants outside the building. But instead of buying them I traded a service with a local landscaper, whereby I valued a property for him and he took care of the plants.

“Both services were of near enough the same value, which meant no money needed to change hands and we both got what we wanted.

“Back then things were good in the business community and it wasn’t such a necessity to do anything like that, but it helped me keep my cashflow as intact as I could.

“But now things have got really difficult and this service is a necessity for many people. What it means is that if someone, for example, wanted their shop front painted but couldn’t afford to pay for it because their cashflow is so tight, they can now get it done by exchanging a service of theirs with a local painter, which is of the same value.

“That means both traders are benefiting and doing business with each other, whereas they wouldn’t have been otherwise... It’s a solution that some businesses need to survive, because the banks have let them down, they can’t get access to cash and, in some cases, they’ve had their overdrafts withdrawn. So it’s a way forward.”

A forum on the site has also seen cars, boats, cookbooks, DVDs, furniture, gym equipment, a bike helmet and even a wetsuit traded between locals.

But unlike eBay and Gumtree, the free service is limited to the locality, which means people are more likely to know who they’re dealing with. It’s also more cost-effective as they won’t have to fill up their petrol tanks and drive for miles to collect their goods.

Mr Kelleher added: “This project is very much community-based and is a positive way for us to move forward in the recession. The website has been designed so that other hubs can replicate it. It’s a blueprint that will work in other communities across Ireland.”