BUENOS AIRES , Argentina -- They line up early every Saturday morning at the decrepit gymnasium that houses the La Matanza Barter Club . Nelly Vasquez and her 6-month-old daughter , Antonella trades wool for food . Club members shuffle in carrying sacks stuffed with everything from homemade clothing to homegrown vegetables , set up their stands and begin a day of bartering . The La Matanza Barter Club in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Isidro Casanova is one of more than 100 that now function throughout Argentina . They provide a vital service for people who are short on cash by helping them make ends meet . Each item brought to the club is given a value by its owner , who then trades it with other members for whatever goods they are offering . `` What we do here is a fair and honest trading . I look at this like a job , and I work hard at it , and it helps me live better , '' says Deolindo Farias , 66 , who brings fresh bananas and mandarins every week and trades them for household items like flour and sugar . Barters Clubs boomed in Argentina following the country 's 2001 economic meltdown when jobs , security and cash were scarce . Club officials say during 2002 more than 2 million people participated in the clubs on a regular basis . In recent years , as Argentina 's economy bounced back , fewer people showed up , but ever since the global financial crisis hit last year , they say the barter clubs are more popular than ever . Watch how the clubs are helping poor Argentines » . `` It 's a reality now . In these past few months there has been a big increase . For example , we now have 400 people every Saturday . It used to only be 300 . People are traveling here from other neighborhoods so they can barter too , '' says Juan Maccarone , president of the La Matanza Barter Club . Nelly Vasquez , 29 , goes to the club because she has no other options . She lost her job at a clothing factory last year , and has been going to the barter club every week since January -- often with her six-month-old daughter , Antonella , in tow . `` I come here because I do n't have a job , and this is the only way for me to survive and get the things that I need , '' says Vasquez , who trades wool and women 's shoes for pasta and rice . For others , the barter clubs offer something that every consumer on a budget seeks : a bargain . `` If you go to the supermarket , they charge 10 or 15 pesos for a bottle of cooking oil . Here , I can get it with 50 or 80 club credits . That 's only 4 or 5 pesos -- that 's a big difference , '' says Maria Rosa Araya , 37 . By all accounts , Argentina was the first Latin American country to have the barter clubs . The idea has now spread to other countries , like Uruguay , Colombia and Venezuela . There 's even a burgeoning barter club circuit across the Atlantic Ocean in Spain . Organizers say barter clubs are evidence that in tough times , economies can thrive -- or survive -- on their own , when it 's the people calling the shots . `` The golden rule at barter clubs is to offer an honest product for an honest price , '' says Ruben Ravera , co-founder of Argentina 's Red Global de Trueque ( Global Barter Network ) . `` It 's a concept that could help solve the world 's economic problems . Think about it , '' he says .
Barter clubs opening around Argentina show extent of country 's economic crisis . Members -- often poor and unemployed -- trade food , clothes . Comment: