The Friendly Market at the Grand Courtyard Officially Bows Out, with Gratitude for All the Company Along the Way
Text by Yilan DaZhaiYuan Friendly Market
It began in June 2009, when a group of friendly-farming smallholders came together. Since then, DaZhaiYuan has walked alongside many environmentally friendly consumers for four and a half years, a market road that is neither long nor short.
Over these four and a half years, we built a face-to-face platform for friendly-farming smallholders and consumers, connected diverse sales channels, and made the concept of "friendly farming" a term that the public reconsiders and discusses frequently, beyond the ever-narrowing category of "organic." The many groups and individuals linked through this market have injected abundant energy into the daily lives of Yilan residents.
Therefore, we deeply feel that the market's phase of its mission has been completed, and we feel deeply indebted to the smallholders and craft partners who come to set up stalls through wind and rain, shoulder many of the market's tedious operational chores, and yet earn only limited income in real terms. Thus, after months of discussion, our partners finally decided: after the market day ends this December, the physical market of DaZhaiYuan will take a temporary rest, giving the DaZhaiYuan work team space to rethink and reintegrate.
In recent years, rural Yilan has been changing rapidly, many new migrants, whether chasing an ideal living space, seeking education for their children, searching for new life values, or taking up farming as their calling, whether half-time or full-time farmers, have brought many new possibilities to the development of the Lanyang Plain. This wave of migration, on the one hand, brings opportunities for positive change to rural areas, and on the other hand, brings environmental impacts and pressure. The DaZhaiYuan work team is thinking: at this critical moment of transition, how can we, with limited manpower and resources, devote greater and more comprehensive attention and participation?
Expanding from the original market foundation that supported smallholders and crafts to care for the overall agricultural environment is the main reason the market work team cannot, in the short term, also manage market operations. But just as nothing in the world is permanent, the end of one phase is also the birth of another. We believe the spirit of DaZhaiYuan will move from the farmers' market toward more direct community support. The "Friendly Life Shop" derived from DaZhaiYuan will continue to connect friendly producers from all sides. For any future matters related to the market, please contact the "Friendly Life Shop." Friends with purchasing needs can contact producers directly:
Friendly Life Shop
Address: No. 209, Zhaoan Road, Dongshan Township, Yilan County Phone: 03-9595915
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