The Destruction of the Organic Farmers' Market

artemislives (69) in ecotrain • 5 years ago (edited)

View this post on Hive: The Destruction of the Organic Farmers' Market

5 years ago by artemislives (69)

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galtsund (59) · 5 years ago

I approve of this sustainable posts.
Upvote 👍

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3 votes

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porters (69) · 5 years ago

In community run situations like the smaller farmers market and the larger Eco-village the importance of having agreed values and good communication can't be stressed enough plus the ability to work together.
With the coin if the confidence can be built in the coin I think it is a good idea to have your own means of an exchange mechanism because of the falling confidence in other fiat currencies.
I think the lesson here is to start small and grow only as you are able - I don't believe in going into debt and it has served me well my whole life.

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3 votes

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artemislives (69) · 5 years ago

Everything starts -and ends- with core values & communication. WE are the system we love & want to hate.

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1 vote

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minismallholding (69) · 5 years ago

I just love how you wove this into a tale!

Like many things, centralisation has good and bad sides, but too often things end up getting manipulated for the benefit of the few. Balance is imperative, but not always easy to maintain.

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2 votes

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artemislives (69) · 5 years ago (edited)

I wanted to find a way to show that WE are 'the system' that we all love to hate & blame, & that it's mostly a lack of agreed values & difficulty communicating at the beginning (when all is excitement) that is the seed of destruction.

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1 vote

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sayee (66) · 5 years ago

A great way to get your point across. Lack of agreement and cooperation do lead to a fall.

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artemislives (69) · 5 years ago

We often don't want to see the divergence or contrasts in core values at the excitement-create phase.... makes for a bumpier ride later. Not unlike falling into - and out of - love.

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1 vote

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sayee (66) · 5 years ago

Yes, true

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bghandmade (55) · 5 years ago

I'm not sure if a few farmers getting together in a market is centralisation. If they all sold wholesale their goods to a shop, that would be it.

Of course the shop will get a cut but it'll work every day for 10 hours while the market will be for a couple of hours in a single day. Also that frees plenty of time for the farmers. Not to talk about the fact many farmers are introvert and have a hard time marketing their crops

So in your story, each and every one of the farmers failed in different way. The administrator did not. The village people were failed by the farmers.

A fail is not something inherently bad. Maybe the farmers will learn a lesson and start over once they can manage it.

So centralisation is also something not inherently bad. What must be kept in mind is the actual scale of things and the limits of the possible in the context of permaculture ethics.

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thegreens (76) · 5 years ago

Working together has always proven to be the most successful way of achieving goals. Service to a greater cause other than yourself has proven to be the most effective and rewarding service. When people work as a team, they win as a team. The centralization did a lot for the farmers but because they put greed over need, they began to fail.
They will soon realize within a short period of time how much they have lost as a result of their greed and the downfall of the centralization. The way you narrated the story was really sweet @artemislives.

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innerblocks (61) · 5 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
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You have been curated by @freedomtowrite on behalf of Inner Blocks: a community encouraging first hand content, with each individual living their best life, and being responsible for their own well being. #innerblocks Check it out at @innerblocks for the latest information and community updates, or to show your support via delegation.

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trucklife-family (72) · 5 years ago

open and honest communication is really important and so is the ability to help and support those who need to be supported. It would have been great if they thought of everyone rather then just their own individual stalls, if one falls behind help them back up, we are after all, here to help lift others, Community should really not let anyone suffer, but instead find a way to work together so that everyone benefits. Great take on the question xxx

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vegan-curate (49) · 5 years ago

You Have Been manually Curated By Vegan-Curate, Here to Curate For the Animals And Heatly Living.

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nainaztengra (79) · 5 years ago

I personally feel for any community to survive the agreed values are the most important and then an transparent communication, if these 2 are lacked it can crumble down very easily. In their case even the nature played some role. From a thriving community to a struggling one there are a lot of misses and lessons to learn

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eco-alex (73) · 5 years ago

oooh, food for thought! the example of the farmers market is an interesting one.. thats a shame it didnt work out.. many do of course... especially the very local ones that are a part of the community events.. but sometimes things go wrong.. Making the right decisions when things are not going well are the most important.. we should hold on to our values, and make them carefully..

i believe in what i am now calling ultra-decentralised systems.. they are ones that are not only decentralised, but also work organically with least effort, and with minimal rules or restrictions. The problem i think with your local farmers is that they are a tiny, isolated group still tied and trying to operate within the centralised systems. First we have to get out of its control and pressures, by becoming self sufficient ourselves, and then we can start making the right decisions for healthy abundance.

Cryptos and tokens are decentralised because no one has outright control of it, and anyone can step in and gain influence at any time. Many start off more centralised as the tokens get adopted over time,

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freemotherearth (63) · 5 years ago

Great read! "...their lack of agreed values, their poor communication..." and their lack of participation all fueled the demise of the community market in this story. I have visited, lived in, participated in, and taught about intentional communities of many different sorts. Those three aspects are ones that I focus on in the explanation of areas to be mindful of and specific in dealing with. While having the cohesion in the desire to "centralize" with other farmers for selling their wares, that is not enough to carry a group of humans past a short-term satisfaction. Having the foresight to develop a framework that includes agreed upon centralized values and goals along with steps for decision making and conflict resolution gives the founders the ability to maintain the ideals and energies of the pure concepts that brought the group together. Creating a way for direct and productive communications to happen between group members is essential for sustainable participation! It also helps with the reality that it's likely members will change over time, and gives future community the chance to resolve issues as they arise in a manner that holds true to the framework of the group.
@artemislives you have my attention now... I look forward to reading more of your posts!

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