IWK

Get you hair braided for toys, as barter system resurfaces in Fiji

Written by IWK Bureau | May 8, 2020 11:37:52 PM

Its economy hit hard due to lack of tourists and cash in short supply, Fiji is seeing its citizens engage in barter system to fulfill their needs and other demands, reports said on Friday.

A Facebook group called Barter for a Better Fiji, whose cover photo stresses "no cash accepted" on both sides of its logo, now has more than 120,000 members in a country of fewer than a million people, the BBC reported.

One deal saw two piglets traded in return for a kayak, another, hair braiding in exchange for toys.

While the Pacific island nation has been spared the worst of the coronavirus - with 18 cases and no deaths, as per the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, its vital tourism sector has been hit hard.