No Money, No Problems at Turin's Barter-based Marketplace

In Turin, Italy, the Gifts Without Money-or, if you prefer, Regali Senza Moneta-initiative has transformed a marketplace into a money-free zone, where people exchange goods and services without the intermediary of a legal tender. The idea is that without bringing cash or credit into the marketplace, people can recognize the true value of exchanges-that value having more to do with interpersonal connections than with profits and loss. From La Stampa:

Those wanting to participate in the event have to bring something that can be exchanged, which can also include a skill or a knowledge service. Stalls are available and these can be booked by sending a mail to senzamoneta(at)manamana.it. "During recent SenzaMoneta events that we organised in the city," [says the event organizer], "we have seen some really fun things: dinner invitations in exchange for objects, or a live one-hour long music performance in exchange for a one hour plumber intervention. The whole idea is to go beyond the idea of the financial value of things, but rather exchange them with whatever our free imagination can come up with.

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I absolutely love the sentiment behind this project, wherein the spirit of person-to-person commerce is able to thrive, and goods and services themselves are more important than their monetary values (it's usually the opposite). Granted, it won't replace our financial system, but it doesn't really have to.Via PSFK.