On a Tuesday afternoon at a cafe outside a shopping center at Chapultepec and Mexicaltzingo in Guadalajara, Sofia Amezcua is interviewing a producer of hand-knitted leg warmers.
Amezcua, the energetic, 30-ish organizer of two weekly events she has dubbed Ecomercado (ecological market), says she was inspired by a desire to help the creators of socially responsible merchandise succeed.
“I’m happy because among the 40 or so producers who started with Ecomercado over two years ago, some now have stores or are exporting,” she reported, adding that Ecomercado has grown to two local locations — Plaza Las Ramblas near Chapultepec and Urban Village, in Zapopan on the west edge of Guadalajara — each of which opens once a week.
Merchandise at the two markets begins with gourmet food such as cheese, coffee and jam, and extends to health/beauty products such as soap and independently designed wares such as clothing and decorative items.
“I provide the producers a table and chair, aprons and so on,” she explained, adding that “We also have free workshops, for example, in wood sculpture, plus live, local music.”
Amezcua seems particularly proud of the Ecomercado location on Chapultepec, under the IHOP restaurant, which opens every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “People come on bikes from the Via Recreativa [the Sunday bike ride along avenues closed to traffic] and sometimes bring their pets, because we are pet friendly,” she noted.
Ecomercado happens at two locations and days: Plaza Las Ramblas, Chapultepec and Mexicaltzingo, Guadalajara, Sundays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Urban Village, in Zapopan on the west edge of Guadalajara (Avenida Patria and Moctezuma, Jardines del Sol), Saturdays 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. in alternating spots near Walmart or upstairs in the food court. Producers who wish to sell at Ecomercado may phone Amezcua at 044-33-1140-4851.