In this video learn about barter, its uses and why it became unpopular.
------------------------------------------------
I am hungry. I am going to eat something
Meera has a corn on the cob and Sharanya has an apple with her.
Do you want the corn on the cob. Give me your apple and I will give you the corn.
So they exchanged the corn for the apple and both were happy. This is called a barter.
Imagine a long time ago, before there were any stores or money like we have today. People had to find a way to get things they needed, like food, clothes, or toys. This is where barter came from!
One person might have a bunch of apples, and another person might have a basket of clothes. If the person with apples wanted some clothes, and the person with clothes wanted some apples, they could decide to trade. So, they would exchange apples for clothes, and both would be happy because they got what they wanted.
Barter is like a simple swap or trade,
But as time went on, people realized that barter could be a bit tricky because you had to find someone who wanted exactly what you had and had what you wanted in return. That's why they eventually invented money to make trading easier. Money is something everyone agrees has value, so you can use it to buy lots of different things from many people.
But barter has never entirely disappeared. Even today, you may use barter to exchange toys, books or chocolates. Even companies sometimes use barter.
So next time you exchange something, remember it is a barter and you are using something which ancient people around the world used daily.
