Peacewarts: Dept. of Living Roots - Barter & Sharing (Class 12)

We explore how local economies built on barter, time banking, and gift systems provide security during financial instability. This class examines the Argentine economic collapse, the global TimeBank movement, and how local currencies like BerkShares insulate communities from global shocks.

Homework:

1. Look up the work of Edgar Cahn or research the Hureai Kippu system in Japan to see how different cultures value labor.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes. If all the money in your bank account vanished tomorrow, what skills or items do you have that you could trade for a week's worth of food?

Learning Topics: The 2001 Argentine Barter Clubs (nodos); Hureai Kippu and Time Banking in Japan and the UK; Edgar Cahn and the TimeBank Mahoning County case study; The Potlatch as wealth redistribution; Local currencies and the BerkShares model.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We examine how the "throwaway culture" of modern economics conditions us to accept human expendability. This class explores the link between the Rana Plaza disaster and precarious labor, the role of e-waste in Agbogbloshie, and how military "use-it-or-lose-it" logic mirrors consumer waste.

Homework:

1. Look up the term"Planned Obsolescence" and find one product in your house that you believe was intentionally designed to fail or be unrepairable.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes about the word "Disposable." List three things you consider disposable. Now, try to trace where they go when you "dispose" of them. Does that change your view of them?

Learning Topics: The transition from stewardship to consumption; The Rana Plaza Collapse: The human cost of fast fashion; E-waste in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, as a driver of regional instability; "Use-it-or-lose-it" military budget cycles; The cultural normalization of "collateral damage."

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We examine why social cohesion is a logistical requirement for peace. This class explores how loneliness drives radicalization, how the "Social Front" of the Danish Resistance saved thousands, and how the West African Ebola response proved that trust is more effective than force during a crisis.

Learning Topics: Social Isolation as a Predictor of Radicalization; The 1943 Rescue of the Danish Jews: Neighborhood-level coordination; Community-Led health responses in West Africa; Trust-based security models in Scandinavia; Restorative Justice and Māori Influence

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW