Trading in the South Pacific

Before we left Panama, we quizzed a number of yachts about trading in the South Pacific. What do the people on the remote islands want / need that we could buy at an affordable price and trade for locally made goods in the Pacific? Most answers were not very clear. The only one that stuck out was that alcohol is very expensive and can be used in some cases to trade. 

So we stocked up with cheap rum. Worse case scenario, is that we would never be thirsty and may be able to appease pirates if ever we encounter some of Blackbeard's descendants. 

Our first stop in Fatu Hiva revealed a number of goods that locals would like to have traded for.

Red wine, needles and thread, perfume (small bottles), rum / whisky always useful, T shirts. Has to be new / in very good condition (and generally large as the people here are not pygmies). 

We traded a number of things. Red wine, panamanian rum, a running T shirt (specifically wanted a sports t shirt). Other items which will always go down well are goodies for children, especially school stuffs. We received a huge amount of fruit for a few colouring pens, a note pad, a few balloons, bobbles and most importantly sweets! 

You can never have enough sweets! For both yourselves and "break the ice" gifts. Few adults and even fewer children can resist a good sweetie. Cries of "Bon Bon!" bring out loads of otherwise shy kids who soon become your best friends. This will not stop them however from using your dinghy as a large rubber bath toy to be abused especially when you are not looking! Little rascals!

On the how to trade without handing over the kitchen sink, we identify something that we like and ask if they want to trade. This then denotes the ground rules and removes any expectation of cash transaction (something we have not much of). Most recently we traded for few class B / C black pearls by selecting some, then ask what they wanted for them in order to trade. Most of the time the locals have a good idea of what you have and what they want.