Today is my first rest day in almost two weeks, and it’s given me an opportunity to stop and reflect on some of the conversations I’ve had, places I’ve seen and people I’ve met since coming back to China.

One of the most interesting, and unexpected occurrences was a conversation with the founder of Beijing Farmer’s Market / Country Fair.

Many of us in the West are aware that food safety and provenance is an issue with Chinese society. I know I was. I was not aware that Chinese farmers are exploring farmer’s markets to address these issues as we have done in the West. These markets are also providing direct channels to customers for urban farmers, of which there apparently many, and also help with local money flows and local economic development.

I spoke briefly about the interesting work of Brixton Market Traders Federation (BMTF) in South London. BMTF have been working in and around the street market in Brixton for decades as a membership body of market traders. In recent years they have become a social enterprise and are being more explicit in how they share the social and environmental value of their activities with the surrounding community.

For more information on these two projects click here:

• Brixton Market Traders Federation CIC
• Beijing Farmer’s Market 

Published: July 6, 2013. Categories: News and Robert's Blog.