Local Communities create online connections for offline communication.
Postcode Communities
Concept
Community NOT Commune
Suppose you want a commune. Great, if that is your thing. Good for you. The Trade Shack is about setting up a commune in your area. We talk about the community, the mums, dads and kids in a defined geographical area who want less reliance on the current system, ideally creating their trading and support systems. The Postcode Community members might not have all the same goals, interests and opinions, but they all need FOOD and want a healthy lifestyle.
To make it easy to “group” an area without giving exact locations, we decided to introduce Postcode Communities. Using the existing nomination as set by Australia Post. Why reinvent the wheel if you already know it is round(ish)?
Postcode Communities group local resources like backyard growers, commercial growers, services, and products to shorten the supply chain. Share ideas in private discussions within your postcode community forum, start initiatives with people from your area and make new friends locally offline.
The Trade Shack provides a mechanism to talk, trade, buy/sell and swap locally, safely and securely. Creating online connections for offline communication.
Postcode Communities
The Process
“Find like-minded locals online, get comfortable and make decisions to meet offline to build sustainable communities in the real world.”
Trade Shack
POSTCODE COMMUNITIES
Move the map around with your mouse or fingers to see our Postcode Communities
Queensland
Find Queensland-based groups to create connections, and find existing Postcode Communities.
New South Wales
Find NSW-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
Victoria
Find Victoria-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
South Australia
Find SA-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
Tasmania
Find Tasmania-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
Western Australia
Find WA-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
ACT
Find ACT-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
Nothern Territory
Find NT-based groups to create connections and find existing Postcode Communities.
Postcode Communities
The Vision
Enable the creation of self-sufficient postcode communities where people can access good food and a healthy lifestyle without using long supply chains, Government dependency and centralised production—choosing what part of the existing system they want to use and what part they want to take control over, cherry-picking instead of replacing.
Encouraging backyard growing of food, services and products, creating micro trading within a postcode community and across Australia.
Using the Trade Shack as an initial trading platform to buy/sell/swap free from constraints to move all trading and communication offline to face-to-face. Like in the old days.
NOT 15min City.
We are not advocating the 15min City concept part, which relies on the geo-fencing and penalising system. Our vision is self-sufficiency and therefore have more independence, little or no dependency on Government and centralised food production facilities. All within your local Postcode Community. Produce food and products de-centralised (e.g. backyards) within a small footprint, such as a postcode.
Bringing back the medieval town square approach where people would come together to trade, relay news and meet face to face without “foreign” interference or oversight.
It is a vision. That said, we can bring together communication and trade securely and privately online. This is done by removing the need and dependency on social media and using the Trade Shack forums instead.
It is up to you to
Make it Work
We need YOU, to make postcode communities work. We provide the tools and the platform, but without your input and effort, it will not work.
The Trade Shack is not a place where you can look from the side-line, we are not able to make food grow for you, and we are not telling you what to do. You are the boots on the ground, you know what is best for your community, not us. The Trade Shack is merely helping you along, pointing out potential pitfalls and providing a secure and independent platform for you to communicate with people in your Postcode Community. Ideally, you make contact online and communicate offline.
Use the forums to let people know the local news, and have to opportunity to discuss it (in private) online if you choose to do so. Use the “Trading anything” to buy/sell/barter and swap products and produce. If you are a commercial grower or provide services, use the business directory for advertising your products.
As outlined in “The Process” section, we provide the tools and some of the knowledge. You make it happen.
Join the
Community Discussion
Community discussions are held on our forum. It is a safe place to have uncensored and unbiased discussions. The only requirement and rule we have is RESPECT.
When joining the discussion, you accept that not everybody has the same opinion as you, you have not walked in their shoes, nor do you know their situation. RESPECT IS KEY.
kEY ELEMENTS
TO SUM IT UP
- Pick and choose from the existing “system” what works for you.
- If security is your concern, don’t use social media. Meet offline.
- Whatever you do, DO NOT USE FACEBOOK GROUPS as a platform for discussions. It is one big data and privacy mining platform.
- Start small by discussing things that matter to your community in your postcode community forum.