Barter takes hold in depression wracked Greek economy

VOLOS, Greece -- Residents of this town in northeastern Greece are resorting to an age-old solution to deal with a desperate new problem –- using barter instead of cash for essentials.

"I want to use euro but it's very expensive and I believe trade is better," said 30-year-old Artemis Zafiriou, who works at an agency helping immigrant workers but hasn’t been paid in months.

The port town of Volos is like countless other communities in Greece, where millions are strapped for cash amid crushing European Union-imposed austerity measures. A steady flow of people come and go at the unemployment office, but most find no work.

So Zafiriou and her partner Kostas Christou, 40, have joined a small but growing network of people who trade goods and services without cash.

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