Why We Created Solara Barter Circles
Modern farming and homesteading can feel isolating. You’re growing food, caring for animals, building infrastructure, and holding everything together — often alone. Money systems don’t support small growers well. Labor is hard to come by. And most people are doing this without a real community around them.
Barter & Trade Circles exist to change that. We’re creating small, local circles of farmers and homesteaders who show up for each other in real life. Not online forums. Not social media groups. Real people. Real land. Real support.
Each circle is made up of 8 local farms or homestead hosts, all within about 45 minutes of each other, plus trade members.
From April through November, the circle meets once per month on the last weekend of the month, rotating which member hosts.
Every gathering includes:
✅Hands-on help on the host’s land
✅Skill sharing and learning
✅A shared meal
✅Barter exchange using Trade Points (beta)
✅Community connection
At the same time, everyone contributes what they can, so each host receives meaningful support, which will go back to you in return.
How the Monthly Support Works
Each circle includes 8 rotating host members, with unlimited supporting members welcome to participate. Every member contributes in a meaningful way to the host of the month and to each other. Instead of exchanging money, members bring value in the form of labor, skills, food, supplies, tools, services, or handmade goods.
Hosting rotates throughout the season so that each of the 8 host members receives the collective support of the group once. When it is your turn to host, the group shows up for you. When it's someone else's month you show up for them.
Contributions are discussed in advance so the members can clearly communicate what would be most helpful, ensuring fairness, clarity, and balances exchange.
What you gain beyond that is the real value:
✅Labor
✅Skills
✅Food
✅Barter
✅Momentum
✅Community
How the Barter System Works
We use a simple community exchange system called Solara Trade Points (STP), which is still in beta testing
Instead of money, trades are guided by three things:
Time
Difficulty
Cost to Create
Each is scored from 1–5 and added together.
For big responsibility items (animals, major builds, infrastructure), a simple expansion rule applies.
There’s no central bank. No apps required. Each person keeps their own simple notes.
It’s flexible, trust-based, and human-centered.
Who Is This For?
And especially for people who value:
✅Community over competition
✅Collaboration over isolation
✅Relationships over transactions
You don’t need to be “finished.” (Because let's face it, you are never finished😂) You just need to be building something real.
Do you value:
✅Community over competition
✅Collaboration over isolation
✅Relationships over transactions
You don’t need to be “finished.” (Because let's face it, you are never finished😂)
You just need to be building something real.
Join A Circle
We’re forming small, regional circles of farmers and homesteaders who support each other through monthly gatherings, shared labor, barter exchange, and rotating financial support.
Fill out the form below to request joining a circle.
We’ll group people by location and create a simple group text or Facebook Group for each circle so everyone can connect directly.
Solara Barter Circles are built on:
Trust✅
Fairness✅
Participation✅
Generosity✅
Personal responsibility✅
This is a mutual support network.
Not a business transaction.
After you submit:
✅Someone will review the application
✅We place you into a regional circle
✅You’re added to a group text with your local members
✅Hosting months are scheduled
✅Your first gathering is planned
That’s it. You’re in community.
Barter & Trade Circles are built on:
✅Trust
✅Fairness
✅Participation
✅Generosity
✅Personal responsibility
This is a mutual support network.
Not business transactions.
