Definition of barter trade:This is the exchange of goods for goods. It is one of the earliest forms of trade. For example, among the Kenyan pre-colonial communities such as the Maasai who kept livestock but did not have grains which the neighbouring kikuyu possessed. Barter trade sometimes even took place within the same community where some people had some special talents that others did not possess. E.g ironsmiths A form of barter trade known as ‘silent trade’ was practiced in some areas where the two involved communities could not speak the same language.
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