Each year, over ten million American kids attend summer camps across the nation, so there is reason to believe that camp societies could function with their own form of currency: friendship bracelets. As a camp counselor, I have seen first-hand how much time campers put in to tying cotton threads into knots and trading them around camp. If a system were implemented to make friendship bracelets a form of commodity currency, children could buy snacks and souvenirs at the camp store, and use bracelets to trade for items and better bracelets with their friends. Since they are aesthetically pleasing, laborious to make, and easy to store and transport, friendship bracelets would be a feasible form of currency at summer camp.
Threads of countless colors can be made into bracelets with several patterns, which makes the possible combinations almost infinite. In a situation where friendship bracelets could be used as currency, bracelets with few colors and with plain patterns would worth less than those that are less intricate. Since the bracelets are a piece of jewelry and already have value for that reason, they have some value of their own, which makes it even more possible for them to be used as currency around camp. For instance, an item in the camp store could cost 5 simple bracelets or 2 intricate bracelets. Campers might even be able to buy more string from the camp store or their friends by trading in bracelets they have made, allowing the bracelet making cycle to continue. Since cotton friendship bracelet string is cheap and somewhat durable, it would not be a challenge for most kids to "buy in" to the bracelet making cycle and begin using this new form of currency. When a new form of generating money is very accessible, it tends to work well. For instance, seaweed farming has become a major source of income for impoverished women in Zanzibar because there are few materials needed and it is easy to learn how to harvest seaweed. However, since cotton string often fades and gets dirty at camp, the aesthetic value of bracelets goes down over time, which is very different from most forms of currency that gain value as they get rare after a long period of time, much like ancient coins from Greece and Rome which are highly collectible because of their rarity and because they can teach us about the culture of the time. Making beautiful, valuable bracelets can take a lot of work, therefore, the amount of labor put in to making a bracelet gives it a large part of its value.
Because some bracelets take more time and energy to make, friendship bracelets are a feasible form of currency because different ones can be worth different amounts of money. For instance, the Chinese Staircase is simple and quick to make, while Bracelets with Letters are much more difficult and time consuming. Therefore, campers would be able to use several simple bracelets to buy the same item as someone who paid with one difficult bracelet. By using friendship bracelets as currency, campers would also learn the concept of having to work in order to get what they want. They would be able to compare how much they want something with how much time they are willing to put in to making bracelets. This is very similar to people who make their living in in agricultural businesses. Depending how much time someone puts in to their farm, they can harvest and sell different amounts of food and goods. The friendship bracelet process also presents many opportunities for campers to teach each other new things and make new friends. Older campers, and those with more experience, would be able to teach younger campers how to make bracelets which would help them form friendships and learn to help each other. This system of passing down a tradition is comparable to the women of villages in Madagascar who harvest leaves of the Tsiriky tree and make mats. Since the mats that these women make are important to their cultural identity, they teach their own daughters to make the mats when they are about twelve years old. While friendship bracelets can be time consuming to make, they are easy to store and transport, making them feasible forms of camp currency.
At camp, people's wrists are often covered with bracelets showing how many friends they have made at camp. If we were to begin using bracelets as currency, we would be able to use those bracelets to show how "wealthy" we are. Bracelets can also be tied in knots that allow them to be taken on and off frequently so they can be traded around camp. Even during the off camp season, campers could store bracelets in bags or boxes and save them for the next year without letting them wear out or fade. In addition, bracelets are easy to mail, so campers could continue trading when they are away from camp.
Even though friendship bracelets have beauty and labor value, and are easy to store, there would be some difficulties with making them into a form of currency at camp. For instance, the friendship bracelet economy would be a relatively closed market. For instance, if campers could use bracelets to buy items at the camp store, the camp would lose money because they would have to use real money to purchase the items from the retailer. In addition, by making friendship bracelets a form of currency, it might devalue the fun of making bracelets, and make it seem more like a chore and a burden.
Threads of countless colors can be made into bracelets with several patterns, which makes the possible combinations almost infinite. In a situation where friendship bracelets could be used as currency, bracelets with few colors and with plain patterns would worth less than those that are less intricate. Since the bracelets are a piece of jewelry and already have value for that reason, they have some value of their own, which makes it even more possible for them to be used as currency around camp. For instance, an item in the camp store could cost 5 simple bracelets or 2 intricate bracelets. Campers might even be able to buy more string from the camp store or their friends by trading in bracelets they have made, allowing the bracelet making cycle to continue. Since cotton friendship bracelet string is cheap and somewhat durable, it would not be a challenge for most kids to "buy in" to the bracelet making cycle and begin using this new form of currency. When a new form of generating money is very accessible, it tends to work well. For instance, seaweed farming has become a major source of income for impoverished women in Zanzibar because there are few materials needed and it is easy to learn how to harvest seaweed. However, since cotton string often fades and gets dirty at camp, the aesthetic value of bracelets goes down over time, which is very different from most forms of currency that gain value as they get rare after a long period of time, much like ancient coins from Greece and Rome which are highly collectible because of their rarity and because they can teach us about the culture of the time. Making beautiful, valuable bracelets can take a lot of work, therefore, the amount of labor put in to making a bracelet gives it a large part of its value.
Because some bracelets take more time and energy to make, friendship bracelets are a feasible form of currency because different ones can be worth different amounts of money. For instance, the Chinese Staircase is simple and quick to make, while Bracelets with Letters are much more difficult and time consuming. Therefore, campers would be able to use several simple bracelets to buy the same item as someone who paid with one difficult bracelet. By using friendship bracelets as currency, campers would also learn the concept of having to work in order to get what they want. They would be able to compare how much they want something with how much time they are willing to put in to making bracelets. This is very similar to people who make their living in in agricultural businesses. Depending how much time someone puts in to their farm, they can harvest and sell different amounts of food and goods. The friendship bracelet process also presents many opportunities for campers to teach each other new things and make new friends. Older campers, and those with more experience, would be able to teach younger campers how to make bracelets which would help them form friendships and learn to help each other. This system of passing down a tradition is comparable to the women of villages in Madagascar who harvest leaves of the Tsiriky tree and make mats. Since the mats that these women make are important to their cultural identity, they teach their own daughters to make the mats when they are about twelve years old. While friendship bracelets can be time consuming to make, they are easy to store and transport, making them feasible forms of camp currency.
At camp, people's wrists are often covered with bracelets showing how many friends they have made at camp. If we were to begin using bracelets as currency, we would be able to use those bracelets to show how "wealthy" we are. Bracelets can also be tied in knots that allow them to be taken on and off frequently so they can be traded around camp. Even during the off camp season, campers could store bracelets in bags or boxes and save them for the next year without letting them wear out or fade. In addition, bracelets are easy to mail, so campers could continue trading when they are away from camp.
Even though friendship bracelets have beauty and labor value, and are easy to store, there would be some difficulties with making them into a form of currency at camp. For instance, the friendship bracelet economy would be a relatively closed market. For instance, if campers could use bracelets to buy items at the camp store, the camp would lose money because they would have to use real money to purchase the items from the retailer. In addition, by making friendship bracelets a form of currency, it might devalue the fun of making bracelets, and make it seem more like a chore and a burden.
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