That's very interesting, Tim. I think as the economies of the world fall into decline, there will be a lot more of this social co-operation returning. Personally, I like it.

I've been known to trade off tutoring for child-minding and, in more recent years, yoga lessons for house and dog-sitting. While I concede that the use of money doesn't preclude the forming of social bonds with your local butcher, baker or candlestick maker, there is something satisfying about barter.

In one instance though it seemed to be a mutual conclusion that we each knew something the other needed to know. Always strange when interacting with virtual strangers in this way.
I guess none of us are really strangers and it sometimes feels odd to be reminded of this. I especially found this a couple of years ago when I took a year off my regular job to train as a yoga teacher and worked casually at various high schools. I half dreaded it, having witnessed how some casual teachers were treated, but it amazed me how quickly a person could fit in.

There were some schools that called me back for regular blocks of time and at one in particular it felt like I'd always been there. Both staff and kids were very friendly and it all felt instantly familiar! Kids would regularly come and chat when I was on playground duty and I quickly began to know their various backgrounds and situations. One day when I was doing my daily yoga breathing practice in my chair while the others were at devotions (I wasn't required because they'd called me in at the last moment) one of the teacher friends there came in late. She saw what I was doing (they knew about my training) and said "hello" without disturbing my practice by kissing me on the top of the head as she walked by. Like I said, no real strangers.