The paperclip property pledge

Kyle Mac Donald proposes to transform a single red paperclip into a house.

An enterprising Canadian writer last July instigated his desire to start trading a single red paper clip for items increasing in value until he reaches his target of a house.

Mac Donald, 26 years-old from Montreal, used the power of the internet to swap his way to the top, attracting anything between five to fifty offers a day.

The wannabe fist time homeowner initially exchanged the paperclip for a pen, soon traded for a doorknob, which was exchanged for a portable barbecue. Swapped for a generator, a portable party set soon followed.

Mac Donald was inspired by his favourite childhood game "Bigger or Better" coupled by the fact that he could not afford to own his own property. “I want my own house. I don’t have enough money for a house but I do have one red paperclip," said Mac Donald. To date, he has traded up to a 1995 Ford van, getting ever closer to his target.

“I will go anywhere for the right offer”, he reveals. Mac Donald receives offers from all over the world and promises visit any potential trader. Reassuringly enough; the travelling costs do not outweigh the item's traded value. "I actually haven't spent a cent on the project I travel lots for my job so I make trades on the road".

Anyone is cordially invited to trade with Kyle at: www.onredpaperclip.blogspot.com providing it’s for something more valuable than a van. Once coined as saying “I won’t stop until I get house, an island or a house on an island,” time will tell.