AHMEDABAD: Vishnuben Chauhan (40) an agricultural labourer in Chadarda village in Sabarkantha has not seen cash for the last few days. A 10-kg sackful of groundnut that she has earned as wages has ensured her survival as she bartered it for two kg of flour, a litre oil, some chilli powder, salt and jaggery and half a kg of potatoes and onions.“My saheb declined to pay wages in cash citing the cash crunch . Thank the lord that the local grocer is exchanging groundnut and grain that we got as wages for essential commodities so that we can survive,” says Chauhan.After demonetization , the ancient practice barter system , colloquially called Sata, is witnessing a revival across the state. With cash scarce in villages, people are being paid wages in grain, milk, oil etc and are in turn exchanging this for eatables, provisions and daily necessities like soap, toothpaste, kerosene etc. Usman Hadadwala (65), who has run a grocery shop in Gathoda village of Himmatnagar for 50 years, says barter is preferred to credit. “People buy oil, flour, spices, soap etc needed for daily use in lieu of 5 or 10kg of wheat, maize, bajra and groundnut that they get as wages. This ensures that the poor and their children do not sleep on an empty stomach,” says Hadadwala.Rural folk are also using barter to exchange goods for services. In Abhrampura village of Savarkundla taluka in Amreli, barber Haka Mesuriya provides a clean shave and haircut in lieu of milk, grain and vegetables. “Knowing how cash strapped people are, I do not insist on cash payment.” Here, Haresh Tempowala, is ferrying people in his tempo and is being paid in milk. In Valasana village of Mehsana district, sarpanch Vimla Parmar said people have taken to barter in a big way. “With no cash in hand, women ask flour millers to deduct 500 to 700 gram of flour as a fee for grinding the wheat and bajra. Farmers are buying two litres of milk by giving three kg of wheat to cattle rearers. .”