At Dartmouth folk school, students barter goods for knowledge

A new folk school in Dartmouth, N.S., is offering education on the barter system.

It's called Life.School.House and teachers lead community classes in exchange for goods brought by the students.

Classes have included leather book binding, gardening and drawing. Students don't pay cash, but in bartered items requested by the teacher. That included books, soaps and homemade foods.

Jennifer and Scott DeCoste run the folk school from their family home. They bought it with that in mind, making sure they were near a bus stop and had space to welcome about a dozen students at a time.

"We actually offer the space for free in our home. The folks who are joining us to teach any of our classes do so on a volunteer basis," Jennifer DeCoste said. "But the people who come to participate in the program are encouraged to bring an item to barter in exchange for the skills they are receiving." 

The DeCostes started offering classes in February and run about eight a month. They don't make a penny from the folk school.

"I think there's a hunger right now for people to be with each other, to have a human connection, and spend this time with each other in this type of environment," Jennifer DeCoste said.

For the leather binding class, the facilitator received so much in exchange, it took three people to get it out to her car.

"She was glowing when she left," DeCoste said. "It was a wonderful experience for her to have received those gifts, as opposed to a monetary exchange."

On Sunday, Jasmine Jena taught an Indian cooking class with her husband, Lokapriya. They moved with their nine-year-old daughter to Halifax from Delhi last year. Lokapriya said moving from a city of 25 million to a city of 400,000 took some adjusting.

"We checked in on Spring Garden [Road], only to realize there's nobody here! Where are all the people? We do get a little overwhelmed," he said.

The DeCostes invited them for Thanksgiving dinner and they became friends.

"There's no looking back after that. We are part of all their family dinners — Christmas dinners, housewarming parties and recently Easter, all thanks to the DeCostes. They are promoting community living and a very warm welcome to the newcomers," Jasmine Jena said as she prepared the feast.

"We feel very Canadian," Lokapriya added.

Lokapriya Jena told the class about the huge range of cultures in India. He and his wife speak different mother tongues and talk together in English or Hindi. They got students to prepare the food, teaching them how it's made.

"In our culture it's said you can't buy knowledge. You either exchange it, or you earn it. You don't pay to get knowledge," Jasmine Jena said.

"We discovered a fabulous way to get to know more people, to make more friends," Lokapriya said. "We get to become Nova Scotians. I think this is the biggest way to help us build on our sense of belonging — and we're here to stay."

Often, the students don't know the teacher, each other, or the DeCostes. Jenn Prager spotted the class on social media and signed up.

"It caught my eye that it was an Indian cooking class and I like that it's a barter system, because I don't have a lot of extra cash as a single mom," Prager said.

She brought books for the cook's nine-year-old daughter, ones she culled from her own daughters' library.

"Everyone's got something different to offer, and I think there's a lot of value in that. It's the feel of it I enjoy so much more than going somewhere and paying for a class," Pragger said. 

Life.School.House builds on Trade School Halifax, but set in a home and on a smaller scale. The DeCostes have heard from people in Pictou and Wolfville who want to give folk schools a try.