A vegetable revolution that began with the shopping basket
(For background, you may first refer to the article published on Newsmarket at this time two years ago )
In my first year as a housewife, I had a small dream: each month I would set up a planned purchase of produce from small farmers, open orders at the start of the month, and for each item of produce take the order quantity needed to reach the no-shipping-fee threshold as the minimum, with buyers paying only a tiny proxy-ordering and delivery fee. Of course, a dream is ultimately just a dream. If I calculated on doing this as my sole occupation, wanting to earn 30,000 yuan a month, I would need to sell 300,000 yuan of produce each month. If each person's monthly limit for supporting small farmers is calculated at 1,000 yuan, I would have to find 300 buyers! Even if I lowered it to 10,000 yuan in income as part-time work, I would still need to sell 100,000 yuan and find 100 customers in Sanchong, Xinzhuang and Taishan District. After all that, was it just a pipe dream?
In my second year as a housewife, because I was pregnant I began cooking seriously, and because my work often involved interviewing small farmers, sometimes on a whim I would help organize group buys to promote unsold agricultural products. But every time I sent messages one by one on FB to gather a group and invite friends, it was exhausting, and I often had to pick out order comments across various messaging apps and comment sections. In January of this year I finally could not stand it anymore and set up the "Buy Good Things from Good Farmers @ Xinzhuang" FB group, which has now been running on a trial basis for nine months.
Finally, some advice for farming friends:
a. Ordering information is best presented as a single photo plus caption, as this is easiest to repost and spread.
b. There must be a simple, clear ordering process, such as sending a message, leaving a comment directly, or filling out an order form. Never leave only your own phone number. Google Forms is the handiest and free to use (there are many tutorials online), and it lets consumers leave detailed personal information for easy contact. Please have them leave at least their name, FB photo number, and mobile phone number, so that people can be found if there is a problem.
c. Find the most convenient payment method: should payment always be made first, or only after receiving the goods? I think the most convenient and straightforward option is to sign up for "cash on delivery" with a shipping company, with the extra 30 yuan handling fee borne by the consumer. In addition, compared with adding shipping fees separately, consumers prefer "shipping included," so it is better to factor that in from the start.
d. Be sure to notify customers of shipment so they are not caught empty-handed or receive goods early. After shipment, check on the condition of the goods and take the opportunity to remind them about the content of the next production season.
e. Suggest storage methods and special ways to eat the product, so consumers do not misunderstand and think the produce is in poor condition.
This is a revolution that starts with the vegetable basket, with housewives and farmers joining forces. Although the power is small, when many vegetable baskets come together it is also a great force.
Here I would like to relay what a friend said after taking part in the June garlic group buy (within one month we sold 2,500 jin of garlic):
Let our consumption be directly connected to the land, offering a little pile-of-sand-into-a-tower counterbalance to the dumping by large farms under the globalization mechanism, and by supporting local agriculture, let us cherish food even more. Only if we insist on eating well will the environment have a chance to become better.
"Let us cherish food even more. Only if we insist on eating well will the environment have a chance to become better."