Barter group blossoms

THERE is a new group that meets weekly in Pomona to connect with the community and barter homegrown produce, plants, skills and services.

Noosa Barter Tribe meets at Stan Topper Park every Sunday at 11 am.

Founder Nick Cooke said he was prompted to start the group after people started asking him what they could do to become more self-sufficient.

“After running a local online community board for the past two years and a weekly social group in Pomona for the past 10 months, I've had many people ask me what we can do to become more self-sufficient.

“Connecting people to help each other meet their needs is a logical step towards community self-sufficiency.”

Nick said the concept of bartering is an age-old one, and one often turned to in times of hardship. In terms of trade for Noosa Barter Group, it is up to the individuals.

“It can involve trading of a skill for a skill, a product for a product, or perhaps a skill for a product.”

Noosa Barter Group has met twice now and Nick said the community support has been overwhelming.

“The first two bartering meetings were a success. We had people come from all over Noosa and the Sunshine Coast to take part.

“People brought various goods to trade including produce, plants, seeds and bric-a-brac, and we also went around the group and shared our skills/services that we could trade with others.

“Just in our small group, we had a wide variety of trades, professions and skills available. People socialised, swapped contacts and made valuable connections.”

Noosa Barter Group also has an online community that has grown quickly.

“We’ve had hundreds of people liking and sharing our group posts. Within days of creating the online group, we had over 100 people join and two weeks later we had over 350 group members.”

Nick said the group is open to all, to any and all skills, goods or services people can offer.

“Trades can be conducted online or at our Sunday group meet. We are asking people to post what they have to trade on our Facebook page before the Sunday group meeting.

“We are also working on compiling a directory of locals with various skills and services they are willing to barter. Everyone has something unique to offer, whether it be a technical skill, labour, excess produce or general goods and services.”

Nick said as the group continues to grow, Noosa Barter Tribe will have a wider variety of goods and services to trade.

Time for Tom to move on

FOR 20 years, shoppers at Cooroy IGA have been greeted by Tom Muhling’s smiling face.

From pushing trolleys to customer service 2IC, Tom’s face has been a regular one – and one many will miss – because the time has come for Tom to move on. Tom said he is moving to another position in retail in Brisbane.

“It is still in retail but more on the logistic side of things.”

Tom, who grew up in Cooroy, attending Cooroy Primary, Noosa High and Matthew Flinders, will be moving to Brisbane for the role. He said he is going to miss the staff, customers and community in Cooroy.

“I started at the Cooroy IGA doing casual night fill and have done a bit of everything since from pushing trolleys to fruit and veg, groceries, back dock, and for the past six years I have been the customer service 2IC.

“Working at the Cooroy IGA has been really good for me. They’re a great team and I’m going to miss working with a lot of the people there.

“I also enjoyed the community spirit in Cooroy and all the local characters; I’ll miss that too.”

For Cooroy IGA the feeling is mutual.

“Thank you for all your hard work and your friendly smiles around the workplace, even when the day wasn't too kind to you.

“It's been a pleasure to work with you and we wish you all the best for what you choose to tackle in the future. You will be missed,” said the front-end crew.

...for the best result! Call Ryan

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