Field Exercise Log #3 - Bernalillo Farmers Market

<< I just realized I made one long blog entry with photos for all three of our field exercises ... thought I should separate and expand a bit ... here is the last of 3>>

The Bernalillo market is an entirely temporary space, constructed solely by the cooperation of the participants as they follow market rules and established market practices. The rules are not explicit to customers – market rules are generally only ever looked at by new vendors as they complete an application to be allowed to participate in a market.

The physical space - a parking lot – where the market is held would otherwise be devoid of meaning to a visitor on a day when the market is not being held. Though I believe it is a lot designated specifically for the market, I noticed nothing that would prevent its use as a lot for just about anything. Nothing there, about the lot itself, struck me as being uniquely farmer-y. The people and purpose construct the space, and definition and exercise of that space, on market days. Other than the signs put up for the market itself (when it is being held), there is nothing that would identify the location as an actual destination. Meaning is imparted by the social construction of a “farmers market”. Most farmers markets are like this – they are held in spaces that are usually parking lots, or elementary soccer fields, or even empty lots in towns.

Farmers, I guess, tend to be pretty innovative and use whatever comes along – including whichever parking lot seems to work best for their purpose: to provide fresh produce to the less fortunate who are unable to farm and grow themselves. The customers at the market tend to follow the farmers’ lead by parking in a sensible space off the corner, moving in an orderly fashion up and down the aisles of vendors, bringing small change (farmers rarely have large bills for change) and their own bags when possible. Ethos is created collaboratively. Pathos of the experience is, too, create collaboratively and by consensus at the farmers market – farmers and customers alike are there to share information, meet interesting people, sell (farmers), buy healthy produce (customers), and enjoy the laid-back and forward-thinking atmosphere of the farmers market.

And that construction by the participants created the most welcoming atmosphere (to me) of the places we visited. Of course, a lot of that probably had to do with my own personal sense of comfort from many years participating in markets myself.

The Bern market also had the richest diversity of sounds of all the spaces we visited - heavy traffic on the road, voices bartering prices and exchanging info, the crinkle of plastic and paper bags being opened and filled for customers, visitors' tires crunching on the gravel.