Whatever happened to this market?

Thanks to some of you commenting about how you like reading my small chronicles of our local market economy I feel like I have to write something, but it’s hard to put down. It’s been a while and there have been so many twists and turns.

So just a few days before market 2 bf and I fell out, badly. The organizing activities we manage to brew up in our free times might paint us as enlightened, calm, peaceful and kind individuals. Which we are, until we’re not. It started as a discussion about some shade to cover the market square. Before we knew it we were at bf jumping ship and me standing there with the market, having to decide whether to cancel it or continue.

It didn’t take me that long to decide, it’s a community market, there’s been a few people who consistently helped - the right way to do things seemed to assemble them, tell them what happened and ask them if they want to continue supporting it. And so, suddenly, the market team was a small group, discussing together whether the market should happen, and how. But not just the market found support, also I found a temporary place to stay, people offering shoulders to cry on and breakfast and advice. Must I mention that the car broke down at the same time? It gave me an excellent opportunity to walk everywhere for a few days and ponder about the future.

The organizing itself didn’t really need much more work, all we needed was to hang up signage, receive people and tell them where to put their stands, and let the market unfold. There was however some thunderstorm brewing at same time and we started following the forecast - orange warning, hailstorms, strong winds. There was a serious risk of damage to people and stuff. In the last hours the heavy storm turned away to elsewhere (some weather magic by the local witches might have been involved) and we decided to go ahead.

On the market day itself I was at same time numb and miserable, so pleased the market was still alive, and determined to enjoy and treat myself. On the first market I didn’t even have time to sample all the goodness people brought in! You could get massages, eat vegan, vegetarian and local food, buy plants and crafts and second hand goods, leave your kids in the kid’s area … it was relatively quiet because of the bad weather forecast but there was enough life to make it worthwhile for all.

The friendly, not too hot but dry weather window lasted for exactly the market. It was me and my kid who made sure everything was back in place and clean, in a downpour of rain, after everybody else had gone home. And so endeth the second market, very film noir, very wet and dark.

All while I was left to handle things in the foreground, the bf did the right thing and forwarded all relevant emails and phone calls in the background. Most of the explosiveness of our falling out was ultimately old traumas colliding, and it didn’t take us long after the market to carefully reapproach, find a helpful and qualified member of the community to moderate a first talk between us, and organize our life together in a slightly different way. Relationship dynamics, reemergence of old patterns and the struggle against the system in our heads is a long story for another day.

As the rotten parts fall away the market emerges in a new form: as a true community project. A meeting is planned to determine how this group project should work - and already, because nothing is properly defined yet, first frictions have appeared. The next challenge will be learning how to work in a group, and we will need all the good spirits who care to help this little market!

AI has gobbled up my work since the beginning of this year and there is no more funding for the market. We can pay for the next insurance, that’s it. Some village politicians are keen to have a nice market like ours and seem to be much more willing to finance fun stuff like a bouncy castle and musicians, so we might have to move at some point, or even become nomadic. If you happen to know a friendly millionaire who would spend a few peanuts of 400€ per month to keep this thing happening, please send them our way.

And now go and organize some markets, even though it puts your relationships and cars at risk. It’s worth it, trust me.