Trade and Economics

Economics

The city of Birdencaster makes its money from its logging, livestock and beekeeping trade. If products are produced but the order is cancelled, there will be a slight abundance of that product. This can be sold externally and a profit is still made. Cities are expected to produce as much of everything to reduce transportation.

Resources

General paper are expensive. Generally copper and aluminium are inexpensive. There is a renaissance in blacksmithing and redsmithing.
If an item requires repair it is often returned for repair and credit note are given to get a replacement if repairs can not be carried out then the item will be taken apart for parts.

Societal Sectors

Postal System

Postage is by Messenger, though if the message is being carried within the same zone and segment then it is transmitted orally, this is to save on resources and to give employment to the citizenry. If not if it is in writing. Packages are given in to the post offices and sorted by Zone special table for such, which is visually divided into 12 for each Segment. There is a table for Zone 1 but as there is only one building, the arena, any written mail and packages are seen to be going to the arena. Messengers can be told that there is a person in Zone 1 that the message is going to but as said above the message is written. Mail can include items destined to go outside of the cities, which of course has its own table and divisions for where in the country it is going.

Utilities

Natural gas and water are reliable. The electric power supply is only completely reliable for Industrial buildings. It is not unheard of for whole segments to have no power.

Commercial Buildings

Power generation is only reliable when the shop is open normally 9:00 - 17:00, including opening and closing processes. In bakeries, there isn’t much of an assortment of bread as most people eat wholemeal or granary loaves.

Residential Buildings

Domestic electricity supplies are unreliable and can sometimes only work when people are out. Working at home is rare, though can occasionally be brought home. Should the electricity supply fail, candles are used because household generators are too expensive. Street lighting is electric but feeble and unreliable. Every household has a notebook of recommended items and there amounts for the storerooms of their house/ apartment for the purposes of storing items for crises. The authors of the notebook don’t know what skills the residents have, so they include everything. Such skills are knitting, sewing and candle making.

Industrial Buildings

The city has more pre-industrial production methods, often producing items made with hand tools and light machinery such as metal plating. Conveyors are generally in use and can be found in the warehouses. See Science and Technology for clarity.

Trade

Mining

The City is nowhere near any mountains so mined materials have to be imported.

Mineral Products

Imports include minerals which are generally needed for industry. For the jewellers, any gemstone which can be used instead of a more expensive type will be used.

Metals

Imports include that of aluminium and copper and Brass in ingot form, copper pipes and round rods are also imported as well as Steel sheets and Nickel sheets for coins. Again when facilities are not available, the scrap material is exported unless for example at the city's mints the scrap metal from punching blanks will be melted down and turning in new sheeting for more coins. in smaller businesses they will, of course, will not have enough space for such facilities. Copper pipes are imported because smaller items made out of copper are more cost-effective if they are made from copper pipe. Copper round rod is imported so that round and long items can be made the diameter of the round does not exceed 25.4mm or one inch but can be as small as a few millimetres. Chess pieces as well as for the spike for candlestick holders are made from round rods of copper. Precious metals are generally imported in small amounts as jewellers are rare throughout Birdencaster. Exports are that of Jewellery and any scrap metal to be melted if such facilities are not available.

Stone and Glass

Imports are the following(below) to produce glass and the resulting products are sent to warehouses

• Silica Sand.
• Sodium Oxide from Soda Ash.
• Calcium Oxide from Limestone or Dolomite.
• Dolomite.
• Feldspar.
• Some glass products are then exported.
• Chemical Products

Manufactured Goods

Plastics and Rubbers

In this area, rubber is generally vulcanized and is imported. This can be produced by the industrial Zone 3, to be made into tires for bikes. Exports are generally any extras of the tires.
Plastics come from natural sources and of course, doesn’t come from oil as it has been used to exhaustion. The main plastic that is imported to the city is PLA. PLA is a sweetcorn derived plastic from the parts of the plant that can’t be eaten by us.
The PLA is in parts where plastic would be beneficial, it has also been made into Tupperware; these items may be expensive as the product relies on a sustainable source. For when Tupperware is not available aluminium foil is then used as it is recyclable.

Wood

Wood is precut where it is needed such as carpentry and packaging as the city thrives on its forestry industry wood is produced by the city. Wooden products can also include stationery, such as pencils. Exports in wooden products include furniture and traditional wooden toys, wooden stationery is an intermittent export commodity.
Wood is used as it's cheaper than the paper it replaces, The text on a board can be changed more easily than paper which can become greyer and unreadable. Wood boards are used as they are thicker enabling the editing, this is because the old text can be chiselled off and the new burnt on these boards tend to be 45cm by 30cm by 2cm thick. This is not to say that paper can’t be used as there are pre-made ledgers and notebooks. Imported, Paper goods include pre-made products such as notebooks and ledgers as in general. Of course, paper products also include toilet paper so this must be imported.
Printer paper or the type of paper that would be drawn on my children is expensive.
Paper goods are imported as the wood that would have gone into papermaking in the city is used to make wooden products and cant be used for both paper and wood-based products as there would be a shortage. Wood waste such as wood shavings, sawdust and a portion of pine needles are exported to make paper as there is no paper mill within the city. With the charcoal burners if both Warehouses are full of charcoal and do not require more charcoal and the metalsmiths have a good supply themselves, then the chips will also be included into the exports.

Clothing and Textiles

Again since Zone 3 is in the industrial Zone, both textiles (including wool as people make their own knitted items). Clothing is imported as standardisation is common and it is easier to import standardised clothing. Specialist garments are made by tailors when necessary, who would be in Zone 4. Bags are also made out of cotton.

Medicines

In this area, medicines are mainly, if not all, imported and are mostly, over the counter medicines. There have been times where medicines have been imported such as antibiotics and vaccines for the hospital.

Transportation

Imports of transportation are generally new bicycles and cycle taxis, including the necessary parts to repair them. There are no buses due to expense. For trains see Zone 5.

Food and Drink

Alcohol

Breweries and Distilleries are generally reliably productive and distilleries are expected to produce at least 1.3 kilolitres of whisky and 0.5 kilolitres of brandy, all distilleries and breweries run on a yearly basis, with allowances being made for whiskey and other alcohols which need to be aged. The amounts for brewed items are; 1.2 kilolitres of Beer, Cider, Ale and Mead but 0.9 kilolitres of Wine (since grapes generally don't like British climate preferring to be cultivated in the south of the country). If these levels drop below this then more of the Alcoholic beverage is imported.
Distilleries in Zone 3 also manufacture chemicals as part of the whiskey creation process. Chemicals and alcohol are exports. Alcohol is highly prized for celebrations and weekend events, but to be drunk or get intoxicated, would have a social cost.

Cereals

Agricultural cereals include wheat, oats and barley. Rye and Corn are not imported in their native form and are rather supplied and processed into such products as rye crackers and canned corn. Wheat, oats and barley may require some processing, i.e wheat needs grinding to make flour etc.

Article Contents

Acknowledgements

Duncan Mirylees