The chic and the earthy mingle every Saturday afternoon at the upscale Andares centro comercial with a pleasant farmers market or tianguis that draws a crowd to the north edge of town with offerings of organic produce and artesanal prepared foods.
“It’s in a part of the mall that used to be pretty empty, but now there are about 80 vendors — up from 45 a year ago — and look at the crowd,” said Alejandro Castañon, one of the organizers of Andares Farmers Market. (The English name seems part of the ambiance, as it is not unusual to hear English spoken there on Saturdays by both customers and vendors, some of whom live in or frequent the Lake Chapala area.)
“Our vendors are generally small and don’t have many other opportunities to sell. They are young or retired people and they are innovators,” Castañon continued in flawless English.
He noted that at present organizers do not charge vendors a fee, except having them pitch in for checkered tablecloths and red chef outfits that give the event a distinctive character. (The mall charges each vendor a “symbolic” fee of 50 pesos per Saturday and they also pay 40 pesos to someone who sets up and takes down tables. On the contrary, Castañon said it is not uncommon for vendors to pay as much as 2,000 pesos a day to participate in “an expo or fair where they often don’t sell enough to make those high fees worthwhile.”)
“Yes, fees charged to the vendors are low, but we are pretty selective about them,” he continued. Organizers look for people who use top quality, organic materials and processes and also show a cooperative and creative spirit. “We may eventually get some big time vendors who are also exporters and in that case, we may charge, because they can afford it.”
He added that he feels that the prices charged to customers are generally reasonable. “We suggest that new vendors charge a fair market value, but of course things are more expensive than similar mass-produced products that use dangerous ingredients.”
Rosy Fajardo may be a typical Andares vendor. On a small family farm and business named EspeciArte (spice art), located just south of Guadalajara, she makes food such as Genovese style pesto from basil she harvests and crushes herself.
In very good English (she used to attend the American School in Guadalajara), she explains that, “I don’t want to be large scale and lose the essence. Although I have an automatic sprinkler, I only have what I can take care of. Every plant is a responsibility. If they have a problem, I treat it with homeopathy.”
The market, which runs from from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday in the food court in the rear of the mall’s upper level, features a range of products. Artesanal breads and baked goods are prominent, along with dairy items such as sheep and goat cheese. Shoppers also throng stalls with potted vegetables and seedlings for home gardens and, of course, stalls with vegetables and fruit. On a recent Saturday, these were figs, asparagus, mushrooms, various types of berries, cherry tomatoes and more. In addition there are delicacies such as falafel made by some Israelis, bruschetta, lasagna, duck meat dishes, chorizo, seafood and hot chocolate and coffee.
\What all the products have in common is that they are “100 percent natural,” explains Castañon. “Most producers here are family operations in which only one or two people work. They are small — not big enough to be able to afford organic certification, which costs from 30,000 to 40,000 pesos a year. So by law they can’t claim to be organic or they could be fined.”
Castañon and fellow organizer Evelia Lamarque also started a similar, bimonthly market at the Ex Convento del Carmen in Guadalajara. Building on that success and six years of organizing experience, they approached Andares over a year ago.
Once their idea was accepted, they handled everything for a year without pay — selection of vendors, publicity, supervision of setup and breakdown of stalls and myriad other tasks. (Both are also vendors at the market.) Then they handed over organizational tasks to Andares mall staff, although they still help select the vendors, in order to ensure that they are bringing in natural products.
“Andares is probably the first mall in Mexico to have an organic market,” said Castañon. “And the growth was really fast.” He adds that now he and Lamarque are negotiating with other malls to start up the same type of market.
“Frankly, we have worked hard and it paid off. However, when people see it functioning, they often think it looks really easy. But some markets like this have been tried and nobody came. At the Ex Convento our average number of visitors shot up from 300 to 950. We did good promotion and visitors came and liked the quality and how orderly and stylish it was.
“People wouldn’t go for this at the established farmers markets. Buyers at those markets have certain expectations for price, such as a chilaquiles breakfast for 35 to 50 pesos, and they are not going to exceed that. And the atmosphere at those markets is dark and greasy. Besides, they are supplied by big producers at the Abastos market and those growers can’t afford infestations, so they take the easy way out and spray. Plus, we know that there are lots of GMO vegetables around and you can’t identify them.”
But the Andares farmers market has a different orientation. On some Saturdays, they hold workshops, such as some given by a vendor on how to construct a “green wall” for growing vegetables at home.
Andares mall has been an enthusiastic host for the vision created by the farmers market organizers. The mall now evidences its pro-environment orientation with a battery disposal unit and its Farmers Market website featuring environmental education.
Andares Farmers Market, at Andares mall, Blvd. Puerta de Hierro 4965, Colonia Puerta de Hierro, Zapopan, Tel: (33) 3648-2280, www.andares.com/farmers.