Urban farmers
The Hoștezeni Community
“What is important nowadays [is] that the supply chain should be short-circuited as much as possible, and the Hostezeni may be an example in this respect. The identity of the city dweller is not contrary to the identity of the farmer, while gardening belongs to and may be a part of the city dweller identity.” Gyöngyi Pásztor - sociologist and university teacher
Video ▶The Hoștezeni are a historical community from the city of Cluj, Romania. They used to deal with urban gardening in an organized way. Their story might not be unique in the world or in Romania, but the understanding of their economic role within the city history is more than a nostalgic memory of a specific community – it may also outline a strategic perspective over current local producers.
Their history indicates that this community has dealt with urban agriculture starting with the XVth century. Up until the XXth century they supplied the entire city with fresh products – vegetables, as well as animal products. Across the centuries, they formed a homogenous community within the city, relating to their ethnic group, religion, customs and the way they organized agricultural flow.
Nowadays, they are defined by the consequences of socialist urbanization and post-socialist economy: the community members who used to live in a certain area of the city have now dispersed and only few of them still deal in their traditional occupation.
Romanian cities have developed and grown; they entered rapidly under the influence of the globalized food industry to the disadvantage of local producers. However: “What is important nowadays [is] that the supply chain should be short-circuited as much as possible, and the Hostezeni may be an example in this respect. The identity of the city dweller is not contrary to the identity of the farmer, while gardening belongs to and may be a part of the city dweller identity.” (Gyöngyi Pásztor - sociologist and university professor)