Senses of Vilnius - where?
As I'm sitting at the first Coffee Inn and blogging, I see a big add in front of me, vaguely inviting people to "sense - see, hear, smell, taste, touch Vilnius" - a hint about a new event from the Capital of Culture repertoire. This particular space is marked with an ear - people will soon be able to hear something, I don't know what. What can one hear in that space at the moment? Chatting of teenagers, mumbling of a homeless man harassing people in search for a compassionate soul to give him some money, before he gets kicked away by a guard from a nearby cafeteria. This "sense" project, however, gives me some inspiration.
If I was to name my favourite place in Vilnius, that would definitely be the Karoliniskes marketplace. It's located a few bus stops from where I live, and I go there from time to time to shop for food. A while ago I realised that boycotting only Maxima doesn't make much sense - other main retail chains are equally evil. Recently a friend of mine was helping out some union activists, threatened by their employers at IKI. So now I try to avoid shopping in chain shops and supermarkets altogether, as much as it's possible in this oligopolic market.
So, marketplace. From beans to bags, from plums to plumbing tools. The good thing about it is that it's big, but not centrally located, and I think the density of people is about optimal. People from nearby villages and those who have big gardens drop by randomly to sell the surplus of their fruit and vegetables. There is a kiosk for milk products, which emits a scent of morning in a village. People in the centre sell dried herbs, dill and parsley, random courgettes and what not. It really gives a feeling that they sell what they happened to find ripe today, and it's not planned, not industrial. Obviously, people sell their goods without EcoAgros certificates - ecological agriculture has established itself as an important element of middle class lifestyle, while people from lower or lower-middle classes also care what they eat, but match it with the affordability criterion. Therefore they rely on personal connections: locals have retailers they trust. Actually, my landlady showed me who are the trustworthy people as she took me to show where the market is. She said that these are people who mainly grow fruit and vegetables for consumption, but always have some extra, which they sell. Therefore they don't use too many chemical fertilisers.
What is important for me is that I can feel the life itself when I'm there. People come and go, choose and bargain, establish spontaneous connections, meet people they know, consult (it's OK to ask the buyer ahead of you if the bread s/he's buying is good), and even share their stories if in the mood. This image would come to my mind when I'm invited to "see, hear, smell, taste, touch". Not a classy space in the centre.
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Comments
Yeah, the turgus, and turgeliai have exceptionally fresh, and cheap produce. I frequent Kalvariju, and my own neighborhood one. But for two facts, I would assume the same as you concerning the people vending, and the origin of the food.
The first is that to sell even in small market costs 2000LTL per year for the license, and then some to the market management - they don't do it for free. These people are spending a lot of money - tow an a half months salary to a shop worker- to sell their goods. Nothing small about that when you consider the profit margin.
The second is that I see these people who sell at my sodas. These people work the sodas like wolves. It's quite common, especially right now, to see these people approach old ladies and others who may be vulnerable to sell their "extra" derlius for pennies on the Lita. My neighbor was offered 35 CENTS per kilo for the equivalent of first class tomatoes. A few weeks ago, the same guy offered me ONE litas per kilo of the heirloom tomatoes I grow, despite the price for equivalent ones in turgus (if you can find them) being 12 Litai per kilo, and at Maxima for 15 and up. When you can't get the money for the permit, and have extra and need money, it's not so hard. The water used here comes from the river, and you certainly would never think to drink it. Some use well water, which can be as bad, if not worse for farming.
Eco stuff sits on the shelves... I watch it. Here in Lithuania, there is no such thing as "organic."
But if I go around the corner from the turgus, I break the ultimate of taboos. I buy raw milk. No, I don't drink it, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I make my own real mozzarella at home.
But these markets are a real bargain. I know that there are many restaurants, big and small, that get their produce and meat from turgus and the people who sell there. The meat vendors do business with restaurants, and sell the rest retail there. Even the processed meat people are selling the same stuff as big chain, and for many Litai less.
The bottom line is that it's easy to get caught up in your senses... your heart can lead you. But once you use your mind, and think and get into what's underneath, everything is actually VERY different.
Mike, if the purpose of your comment was to let me know about the undercurrents in these markets, believe me, I'm not naive. Some of these people have small or micro enterprises and are ordinary entrepreneurs. But the general atmosphere in each market depends on how active cops are in chasing away those who just drop by randomly to sell what they have, and here you can't generalise from one or two markets.
The government was considering introducing more complicated accounting procedures for people selling goods on the market, which would have meant more black market.
"Sodas" (for my non-Lithuanian readers: it's a collective garden which people could get before independence, and afterwards they were half privatised.
I've seen a kilo of cucumbers for 1 LTL - surely they can't earn much from that. And I've never seen such expensive tomatoes on any market. What's so special about them?
By the way, Mike, would you sell me some home-made mozzarella on the black market?