DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22463#0115
February 26, ]95f,
Seren
BETTER THAN BARTER
they exchange—spare time labour
The Government of West Bengal it
experimenting a new programme for
industrial extention in the State.
The first practical step to bring this novel scheme of "The Village Exchange" was taken on
December 26. 1954 in an obscure village in the district of Birbhum. A carpenter carved out
3 small wooden lampstand in his spare time with a piece of waste wood. He estimated Its
price to be five annas but he could not sell it in the market because nobody in the village
had five annas to spare and nobody outside was interested in such a crude product. So he
took the lamp-stand to a blacksmith of the same village. He in the same way made a
razor in his spare time with -a piece of rusty steel. The blacksmith's estimate
of razor, too." was worth five annas. But the blacksmith's wife had the use for
the lamp-stand and the carpenter for the razor. The first transaction was
quickly followed by man;- other similar transactions all over West Bengal.
Every month since then has been a month of steady and continual
progress At the end of October the scheme spread
ewer 920 villages in the Community Development
and National Extension Service Blocks and
is many as 4.969 artisans, craftsmen and
other types of producers participated in
it. The value of the articles and services
exchanged amounted to FU. 23.C02 . The
additional wealth, thus created, would not be
there, were it not for the everexpandmg
Village Exchange plan
This was a humble beginning but there was a
more significant meaning behind the ex-
change with its insignificant value reckoned
m money. It meant the release of the rural
productive forces based on a new-wealth
creating concept to —
build a
Issued in public interest by the Government of West Bengal
Seren
BETTER THAN BARTER
they exchange—spare time labour
The Government of West Bengal it
experimenting a new programme for
industrial extention in the State.
The first practical step to bring this novel scheme of "The Village Exchange" was taken on
December 26. 1954 in an obscure village in the district of Birbhum. A carpenter carved out
3 small wooden lampstand in his spare time with a piece of waste wood. He estimated Its
price to be five annas but he could not sell it in the market because nobody in the village
had five annas to spare and nobody outside was interested in such a crude product. So he
took the lamp-stand to a blacksmith of the same village. He in the same way made a
razor in his spare time with -a piece of rusty steel. The blacksmith's estimate
of razor, too." was worth five annas. But the blacksmith's wife had the use for
the lamp-stand and the carpenter for the razor. The first transaction was
quickly followed by man;- other similar transactions all over West Bengal.
Every month since then has been a month of steady and continual
progress At the end of October the scheme spread
ewer 920 villages in the Community Development
and National Extension Service Blocks and
is many as 4.969 artisans, craftsmen and
other types of producers participated in
it. The value of the articles and services
exchanged amounted to FU. 23.C02 . The
additional wealth, thus created, would not be
there, were it not for the everexpandmg
Village Exchange plan
This was a humble beginning but there was a
more significant meaning behind the ex-
change with its insignificant value reckoned
m money. It meant the release of the rural
productive forces based on a new-wealth
creating concept to —
build a
Issued in public interest by the Government of West Bengal