Fresh greens to enjoy! Beitou Community College's Little Vegetable Market opens
Although I support small-scale farming, a farmers' market this small still came as a bit of a shock. The first time I walked into the Beitou Community College market, there, in the middle of the classroom corridor, were three long tables with leafy greens lined up in a row, and a few ladies calling out at the top of their lungs, "Students, come buy some vegetables!" Selling vegetables right on the spot instantly gave the school the bustling feel of a tiny produce market.
A Micro Economic Network of Local Production, Local Consumption
It was around last winter that five farmers growing vegetables in the greater Yangmingshan area, on Shamao Mountain, Zhongzheng Mountain and Datun Mountain respectively, along with a local bakery using friendly ingredients, and several student volunteers from Beitou Community College, came together to form a farmers' market club and jointly run the community college market. Since Wednesday is the day with the largest class attendance at the community college, the market "follows the crowd" and opens on Wednesday evenings.
Every Wednesday at 5:30 pm, the farmers drive in one after another with vegetables freshly picked that day, while student volunteers help check inventory and stock the shelves. The club has been running for over a year now, and the farmers and volunteers have all become close friends; everyone spontaneously brings a homemade dish, and before the market opens they work while sharing food, snacks and gossip.
At around 6:30, the first shuttle bus coming up from the Xinbeitou MRT station brings the crowd of students, and the corridor market suddenly buzzes with activity. Students use the time before class to pick vegetables, sample them and buy. Half an hour later, at 7:00, classes begin, the flow of buyers drops off a lot, so after 7:00 everyone starts packing up and calling it a day. So the real golden hour for selling vegetables is just a short one or two hours - it is a kind of "flash local evening market," where the business atmosphere is warm but highly efficient.
Also, after buying vegetables and taking them home, many students often find cabbage worms hiding in the bag. One very curious student could not bear to squash the worm and just let it keep eating the vegetables. Unexpectedly, two days later, the worm seemed to show symptoms of dehydration and died. The next week he came to the market again to buy vegetables and shared this brief worm-rearing episode with everyone. One of the market ladies blurted out in the tone of maternal wisdom: "You fed it too much raw and cold food, no wonder it got diarrhea and fell ill!" Everyone burst out laughing.
"Come eat the tender ones~"
Most of the people selling and buying vegetables here are aunties and older women from the local community; they speak without holding back, and the slightly bold and spicy double entendres are part of the fun of selling vegetables. Once, a young male student from the community college whom everyone knew well came to buy vegetables. These big sisters took the initiative to help him pick bunches of crisp, fresh, tender greens, and at checkout they winked and said, "A-Guo, you just love eating the tender ones, huh~" (name changed for anonymity). When they finished, the ladies giggled and joked until they were one big laughing bunch, while the young man was too embarrassed to say a word. The farmers' wives' natural style and the "mama-san" approach give this market a bit more streetwise humor and wit.
Such a fun vegetable market follows the class schedule of the community college term, so it will only operate until the end of this month (12/31), and will then take a winter break and reopen in March next year. Friends living near Beitou, Tianmu or Shilin, please make the most of the last three market days this year, "Come eat the tender ones~"
Beitou Community College Market hours: every Wednesday 1730-1930
Location: First-floor corridor of Lequn Building, Beitou Community College (No. 5-12, Zhongshan Road, Beitou District, Taipei City)
For more great reports and farm introductions, see the "Green Vegetables Are Tasty Facebook fan page": https://www.facebook.com/btccmarket?fref=ts