Prefigurative Community Building (Part 21)
Starting a Non-Monetary Exchange Hub: A Power With Approach to Degrowth and Resource Liberation
Here’s the thing. Prices aren't natural. They're not handed down from the heavens, etched in stone. They're made up, arbitrary signals shaped by whoever has the most power in a given system. And the whole idea of “supply and demand” that people worship like a law of nature? It’s circular reasoning. Demand influences price, price influences demand, and all of it is wrapped up in stories we've told ourselves for so long that we forgot we were the ones making them up.
When you peel back the layers, the economy isn't some neutral force. It's a coordination system. And right now, it's designed around scarcity, ownership, and profit, mechanics that reinforce inequality and extraction. But what if we built a different kind of coordination system? One based on trust, abundance, and shared access? That’s where non-monetary exchange hubs, also known as swap markets or free markets, come in. They're not just fun community events. They're low-barrier, radically inclusive, degrowth-oriented infrastructure for mutual aid, resource sharing, and the unlearning of transactional thinking.
If you’re feeling the urge to create something like this where you live, here’s a guide to help you start, keep it rooted in Power With, and avoid replicating the top-down structures we’re trying to leave behind.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Start a Non-Monetary Exchange Hub
1. Gather Your Core Circle (Start Small, Start Equal)
Invite 3 to 5 people who share a vision of collective resource-sharing and mutual aid. Emphasize that this isn't about leadership or ownership, it’s about co-stewardship. Everyone contributes what they can, no one has more say than anyone else.
Resource: The Consent-Based Decision Making Toolkit
2. Choose a Format (Swap, Free, or Hybrid)
Decide together: will your hub run as a swap market where people bring and take items in exchange, or a free market where everything is gift-based? You can even blend both. The key is making sure nobody has to prove "value" to participate.
Inspiration: Really Really Free Market Network
3. Secure a Space (Public, Accessible, Shared)
Try a park, community center, church hall, or library meeting room. If you need permission, approach with a collaborative attitude and offer something in return, like community cleanup or a shared meal. Avoid renting commercial spaces if you can.
Resource: ioby’s Guide to Finding Shared Spaces
4. Spread the Word (Story, Not Sales)
Tell people what you’re doing and why. Use local social media groups, flyers, community bulletin boards, word of mouth. Make it clear: no money needed, no judgment, all are welcome. If you can, center your messaging on themes of care, joy, and local resilience, not just "stuff."
Resource: Amplifier Art Activism Toolkit
5. Set the Culture (Power With, Not Power Over)
From the start, model consent, non-hierarchy, and mutual respect. Don’t let anyone set rules without collective agreement. Don’t let “organizers” become gatekeepers. Be transparent about how decisions are made and revisit them often.
Resource: Anarchist Principles for Collective Spaces
6. Co-create Logistics (Tables, Signage, Flow)
Work together to figure out flow: where things go, how people move, how leftovers are handled. Label everything simply. Consider signs like “take what you need,” “leave what you can,” and “no policing of need.” Create roles that rotate instead of fixed positions.
Inspiration: Free Store Network (Toronto Example)
7. Include More Than Stuff (Food, Skills, Repair)
Swap markets can also feature community meals, tool libraries, book swaps, seed exchanges, haircuts, or clothing mending circles. Each of these expands the idea of value beyond the capitalist model.
Resource: Repair Café Foundation
8. Reflect and Evolve (Feedback Is the Fuel)
After each event, check in with your core group and attendees. What worked? What felt off? What needs to shift? Keep your structure flexible and your purpose clear: connection, care, and community over control.
Examples of Existing Projects:
1. The Free Store Project (Philadelphia, PA)
This community-run project operates out of West Philly and regularly hosts free markets where anyone can take clothes, toiletries, food, and other items, no questions asked. They're also deeply involved in mutual aid organizing and redistribution efforts.
https://www.instagram.com/thefreestorephilly/
2. Buy Nothing Project (Global)
A worldwide network of hyperlocal gift economies where people share everything from furniture to food to time. Operates mostly via Facebook groups and prioritizes trust-based community exchange.
https://buynothingproject.org/
Conclusion:
Every item sitting in your closet, garage, or junk drawer, if it's not deeply meaningful or actively used, isn't just taking up space. It’s holding up the illusion that we need more. And every time we buy something new instead of sharing what already exists, we feed a machine that must constantly grow to survive. That’s not sustainable. It’s extraction disguised as normalcy.
Non-monetary exchange hubs remind us that abundance already surrounds us. They're not about saving money, they're about reconnecting. About reclaiming the commons in miniature. About building a new economy under the skin of the old one. And in doing so, they help us shift from a culture of consumption to a culture of care.
Degrowth doesn’t have to be scary. Sometimes, it starts with a folding table in a park and a sign that says “Free Stuff.”