Supporting local producers
Temporary markets
“The temporary markets in Cluj are events which are not only competing with classical sale opportunities, but they are also activities which improve life in public areas.” Eugen Pănescu - architect
Video ▶Temporary markets represent a popular means used both in the past and currently all over the world in order to create a direct connection between producers and buyers. In Cluj, Romania, such markets have resumed their organized activity in 2011, following the initiative of some sociologists and architects, who convinced the City Hall of their utility. The markets take place temporarily, in a public area, where only local producers are allowed to trade agricultural products.
Apart from the fact that city dwellers have access to fresh products, this initiative determines other benefits as well. Nowadays, local producers find it very hard to compete with the products of the global food industry; however, such markets are opportunities to establish contact with city dwellers. Temporary markets cannot entirely solve the troublesome situation of domestic producers, but they do represent an important step in this direction.
In the past, the market, viewed as a trading area for all types of products, used to be one of the most important functions of the city; currently, such function is disappearing gradually and at an accelerated pace from the city centre and moves in the malls on the outskirts of the city. Apart from offering fresh agricultural products, temporary markets contribute to the social cohesion of the neighbourhoods where they take place: “The temporary markets in Cluj are events which are not only competing with classical sale opportunities, but they are also activities which improve life in public areas.” (Eugen Pănescu, architect)