This is a CTP of initiative: Slow Food Araba-Vitoria (Spain)
The first turning point identified by the respondent is the organization of the "Santiago Farming Fair" in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba, Basque Country) the 25th of July, 2010, one activity that has been held until today. The respondent has identified several reasons for considering this activity a CTP (critical turning point). First, the organization of this event has meant the confirmation of the organizational and proactive capacity of Slow Food Araba Vitoria, reaching agreements with other institutions and taking the lead in organizing an event that already had a long history in Vitoria.
Second, this event shows the ability of the Slow Food Araba Vitoria (SFAV) convivium to translate its theoretical discourse into reality and to take the "Slow Food" values (clean, good, and fair food) into the organization of the event. Therefore, SFAV introduced new criteria to the terms of the call for the Fair stands, favouring local producers, proximity ones and also giving priority to those organic farmers, thus favouring the knowledge of producers, and supporting a production model of responsible consumption and proximity. According to the respondent, these new values ??and criteria have remained in the following editions and have also been adopted in other subsequent fairs held in Araba.
The Santiago Fair, since 5 years ago (we've been in charge of this for 4 or 5 years), it was a typical fair. We had there producers of all kinds.... one who would sell wicker baskets and did not know where he came from, etc. It was organized by Caja Vital together with the provincial council. And we, Slow Food, were given the opportunity to organize it. When Slow Food proposed to the Provincial Council and Caja Vital organizing the fair, we wanted to focus it in our products, because we already had some weight. And the councillor responsible for agriculture in that moment agreed so he let us set the access conditions to the fair and for the remaining tasks we collaborated with other institutions involved
In the interviewee’s words, the Santiago Fair has become the most important event for Slow Food, given the large number of people visiting the fair (20,000 people per day) and the impact on local producers (in the first edition 20 producers were involved and in the last edition, in 2016, the number increased to 53). The activity has exponentially increased the level of awareness about the Slow Food movement among the public. The partnership leverages the large influx of visitors for organising a series of educational activities for young and adult audiences during the whole day, as well as it helps the recognition of the work done by local producers to increase:
And it increases our visibility, the laboratories of taste through which we work on nutrition topics with kids from different camps. This is our most important activity, our milestone event of the year. Thousands of people attend. It is held on a public holiday in Vitoria…This contributes to its visibility. Institutional and media propaganda also help. The streets come to life that day, because we celebrate it the day before one of the biggest festivities of Vitoria
The success of this activity has contributed, according to the interviewee, to the internal cohesion of the convivium as it has helped the maintenance of the motivation of partners:
It is clear that as things have gone so well, as we have been that successful in organizing it… Success is important to strengthen the group, the bond, to make us feel eager to continue making more, to extend our work as far as we can, because either things had not turned out well or We wouldn’t have been that well received as we did... But the truth is that everything, from the workshops for children we organised first thing in the morning, to the taste workshops held at the end of the Fair, everything we do usually receives much acceptance. People come to buy, many to have a look and to buy. Many producers have sold out their products sometimes even in the morning. That's good
This turning point marked by the respondent also represents an important point in the history of Slow Food Araba Vitoria regarding its ability to reach agreements and to win the trust of local public institutions. It should be noted that since that time (2010), the local convivium had only one source of external funding, which consisted of a collaboration agreement with the Provincial Council of Araba.
For the organization of the Santiago Farming Fair it was necessary to establish an agreement (July 2010) with the Kutxa Bank Obra Social (which had financed this same fair when it was organized by the County Council). Currently, other entities have joined the organization such as the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the University of the Basque Country.
Even the City Council of Vitoria, with which that first time we had no such a close relationship… I think that because there we started to have a very important relationship with the City Council
The Department of Agriculture of the Provincial Government has always behaved very well with us. We are in good relations with them"
Despite the institutional support mentioned, the respondent emphasizes that Slow Food is responsible for coordinating the fair, establishes criteria for the selection of the market stalls and are in charge of making the informative and educational activities of the day more dynamic. To do this, Slow Food Araba Vitoria has a team of voluntary people, formed by a group of activists who constantly participate in the activities of the association, along with a number of volunteers who collaborate in this event.
Along with Alberto and the rest of the board, we are a core of 8 or 10 people who are always willing to do anything. And they then bring another 10
In total, Slow Food has a team of about 30 people involved in the Slow Food stands, who also drive the educational activities, or establish contact with producers before the Fair, chefs, media, etc. Besides, a number of people and entities apart from Slow Food must be added to the list in the sense that they are involved in this activity: cooks, tasters, producers, etc. Moreover, such support has been increasing since the first edition.
The spatial context in which the activity takes place is the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz. However, its scope is larger, encompassing the province of Araba. Slow Food took advantage of the opportunity to assume responsibility for organizing a fair that already enjoyed certain prestige in the region and they took into it the same principles of Slow Food. SFAV changed the objectives and philosophy of the activity and convinced the institutions of the need to introduce sustainability criteria to the products sold at the fair, as a strategy to promote changes in consumption patterns across the population of Araba.
There is also a connection between the activities of SFAV and the global network. The claim for the rights and role of the peasantry as well as dignifying the role of food producers are two of the core messages shared across the entire Slow Food movement. When it comes to the Araba context and the local group organises activities as the one described, they manage to "bring the primary sector to the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz reaching all audiences; trying to bring urban to rural, where producers and products from Araba are the protagonists.
The interviewee mentions two events related to the turning point. The first occurred in 2006, in the nearby village of Okina where a cattle fair was traditionally organised in the mountains of Araba, and which put in value a local breed of horse. Slow Food Araba Vitoria in that year spurred the organization of this rural fair (in Okina), which the respondent qualifies as the first activity of Slow Food which reached a significant impact on the community. At this fair partners of SFVA gained experience in organizing events as well as certain institutional and social recognition, which allowed them to continue driving new projects (such as the food community of Okina) as the organization of the Santiago Fair four years later.
This was in 2006, in September. Before we went to Turin again. In the previous two years we had done a few things: Laboratories of taste; Product presentations; some producer, a cook would come…but we did so still in a humble way and trying to let people know what Slow Food was about (...) That fair was organized every year in a village in the mountains but that year, due to organizational problems, it was decided not to organize it. Then the possibility that Slow Food took the reins of the fair appeared. We seized the opportunity and the truth is that it went very well. We had done other similar things before, as we did with the txacolí [1], but this was an important fair, because we were the basis of the fair. With laboratories, the presentation of the food community (...) Since then we were less than 100 partners but from the fair on we twice the figure suddenly because although we were then focused mainly on getting people for the horse food community, which was the aim of the fair, of course many people were encouraged to join us from this fair onwards
Second, the respondent linked the success of this event with the (implicit) introduction of criteria "Slow" into other fairs and local markets at the level of Araba. The Santiago Fair has served as a demonstration that new models of production, marketing and consumption are possible, through local markets of sustainable products and local products. Slow Food has shown that it is able to make changes not only in political discourse, but also in practice, by promoting new practices at the local context:
Now local products are more promoted in fairs than they were before. Moreover, small fairs have emerged in Araba, which are held once a month, with local producers. That did not exist before. I do not say that Slow Food has caused that, but we did favor it, contributing our bit, so that people see that this can be done. Many of the producers going to small fairs, from one village to another, started with us, years ago. Then they have continued on their own. Many producers have agreed to organize other activities elsewhere. Some time ago, it was common to see producers from abroad who had their greenhouses and sold their products in lots of fairs. Now that's not so common. You see more stalls with local products. "
[1] N.A.: Txacolí is delicious white local wine.
The interviewee recalls that the organization of the "Santiago Farming Fair” of 2010 generated some resistance from the responsible organisations – at that moment the Provincial Government of Araba– as well as among some of the producers and sellers that were traditionally involved in this fair. According to the respondent, the leaders of Slow Food had to convince the institutions of the need to establish restrictive criteria to regulate the type of products that the producers would be allowed to sell in the fair. The scepticism and initial reserves were overcome, in part, using the prestige acquired by Slow Food in Araba and its success in showing a new model of production and consumption was possible. Slow Food makes the Santiago Fair a commercial showcase for those local products included in the "Ark of Taste", all of them local varieties produced in a traditional way:
We could visualize far more producers who we thought existed here. You would talk to people related to the sector, and we wanted to bring 30 producers of our products, and they would look at you as if you were crazy. They kept saying that there were not even 30 producers in Araba. All right, that’s it. Some were so surprised that we could gather more than 20 for our stands. Now we are operating with far larger figures move much above all of those. Now we have lots of stands, all local
There was lots of quarrelling with the Agriculture Department, so we were allowed to do that, because it was very different from what had been done since then (...) While some might still not like them very much, it’s what we have now and the Provincial Government has assumed them as its own and does not seem likely to change. Right now, this fair is consolidated and something very bad would have to happen to make it change. In fact the Provincial Government has been changing its political sign and the fair has remained the same. I do not think we have bad luck, at least for now, for not being able to maintain our philosophy
As indicated, the new rules Slow Food set for the Santiago Fair, prioritized the assignment of the stands to producers (direct sale), they were farmers or ranchers from the province, and whose production models were organic or in line with the Slow Food principles (even not certified). These new rules affected a number of producers and distributors who used to be involved in the fair directly and from 2010 could not make it or who have had to adapt to the new rules, as explained in the following quote:
In some areas we have not made friends. The producer who came to sell some wicker baskets from La Rioja or Soria, they had no place in the fair, according to the conditions set. They weren’t precisely wild about the idea of not being allowed to sell their tomatoes from the other Riviera in Navarra, no matter how good it was. But this was no space for it anymore
The turning point is identified, by most members of Slow Food, as a critical moment for the growth of Slow Food and the institutional and social recognition of the convivium in the city of Vitoria, as well as in the province, especially within the farmers and livestock sector. The respondent acknowledges the convivium had very positive previous experience organizing similar but smaller-scale activities, so their leaders were able to anticipate the potential and the impact the opportunity to organize a fair with such an impact and importance in Vitoria could have for the convivium. It was not either the first edition of the fair, but to take responsibility for taking over from other institutions (the Provincial Administration of Araba) and to take the risk of establishing more stringent and consistent with the principles and values of Slow Food.
Likewise, members of Slow Food foresaw the impact that media coverage could have within the city. 20,000 people participated in the fair. The educational activities and sensory proposals were well received and media coverage was very relevant:
The media coverage of the fair is also important at the level of Araba. We began to find out in the press. We had lots of visibility. People in some areas knew what Slow Food was. In the early years (of existence of SFAV) nobody had heard in Araba of food, of the need to protect biodiversity, etc. Now everyone has signed up for this. We have breeders' associations, which is fine. They are things that at that time, defending what we cannot hear much, was something very new
However, as the respondent points out, in the organization of the event were not only members of Slow Food involved, but representatives of the food industry from Araba that initially were very skeptical about the feasibility of the project. A few years later, it seems that model change proposed by Slow Food has been successful. The Santiago Farming Fair Santiago has become the most complete sample of the agricultural products from Araba (since there is only local product) as well as it has been accepted as the model to pursue, also serving as a learning experience for other locations and local actors who have pushed similar initiatives in their territories:
We wanted to create a space where local products from our territory, which were somewhat produced under the Slow Food philosophy, could have a place and could be distinguished from other products. Because people are no completely able to differentiate, to separate one thing from the other. Because in these fairs there are wonderful people who make cheese, but there are those who make cheese industrially, even cheaper. We wanted to make a difference for people to see that there are Slow Food products, which people do not even, have heard of, and even people who worked within the sector. The first year we were called crackpots and people said if we reached people for 8 stands, it would be more than enough
Slow Food Araba Vitoria has drawn a number of lessons related to this turning point, just as stated has the interviewee. First, SFAV partners have perceived the true implications of the voluntary and altruistic work they had been developed over 5 years in the local convivium:
I think that above all we learned to appreciate the work we were doing. Thay it really had a reason when people have assimilated it so well and has accepted it. At the group level, I think it is important that work gains visibility. It is important because we are many people, all wearing our black shirts. There is a very good environment in the group and we feel acknowledged and satisfied with what we are doing. There is a radio program called Slow Route. That did not exist. And it is there now. And at the level of the Basque Country, having a weekly program with our stories it is important, that is listened throughout Euskad, throughout Vitoria
Second, Slow Food activists have developed strategies of persuasion and have developed a coherent discourse able to convince other entities -and local organisations- of the need to promote a change in philosophy in product markets, introducing sustainability criteria and promoting the recovery of food heritage in the activities promoted by public institutions. Thus, despite reticence and skepticism, SFAV, by establishing criteria that are currently shared by the industry and explicit in the rules governing participation in the fair, has been able to lead an activity of great interest to the public (Vitoria) and also of importance for the local food industry.
The Slow Food members have learned (from this and other activities) new strategies for fostering changes in consumption patterns of the population In order to promote short-supply chains and a more responsible citizen consumption, it is necessary to bring the richness and diversity of agricultural and livestock products produced in Araba closer to the urban population and to showcase the role this sector plays in the conservation of the natural environment.
The producer is usually delighted to meet you, to teach what he/she does. Because they see that people care for what they do; that makes them very excited. Nobody was telling them they were doing a great job, that they were doing a hell of work. That they do not only produce food but that thanks to his work they are caring for the countryside and the forest. That if we we were required to pay money for this, it would not be protected. It gives them time to feel important. That we do it pretty well in Slow Food; adding value to the producer’s work
Such activities like the Santiago Fair have also served to publicize the Slow Food movement and to facilitate a critical reflection on the lifestyles that prevail in today's society. So, most recently, Slow Food members perceive a greater interest in their activities among citizens and reflect on the reasons that have induced this change. Leaders of local initiative are aware of the motivations and concerns people who approach the movement have: seeking a quieter lifestyle, a more reflective one, higher levels of conviviality, but they also they seek for more pleasurable experiences through gastronomy; one demand that Slow Food manages to meet through their taste workshops, cooking demonstrations, etc.
What we are trying to convey makes sense in today's society. Perhaps at some point the way to feed ourselves was getting out of hand, as well as how we live. The Slow philosophy, if you apply it, it is sometimes difficult. It requires to live calmer, to see things calmly; to savor not just the food, but every moment of the day. I think people share this kind of thing. People would like to see this and see how this can be done. Besides, we enjoy some good products, food, which is something inherent in the movement
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