In Mexico there are some street markets where people still barter, such is the case of the "Santuario" and the "Mojtakuntani," both Purépechas located in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán and the case of the Coscomatepec street market in central Veracruz, where rural families exchange their seasonal agricultural products.
"Coffee and bananas are exchanged for pumpkins, for wild mushrooms, for chard, for potatoes, for flowers, for quelites, for corn, for beans and thus the baskets are filled to feed the farming families with love."
Barter (2021-01-14) by Celeste Laviani (photographer), Itzel Mendoza (Editor), and Alejandra Mendoza (editor)Colectivo Rokunin
Those who barter are generally farming families who have surplus production of different foods. It is mainly women who carry out this activity and through this ancestral practice, community sense is strengthened.
Landscapes, food, seeds, fruits, smiles and solidarity are some elements that stand out in the barter of Coscomatepec.
Making a change, exchange or barter (trueque) requires a preparation process to collect the food that will be exchanged. Women farmers prepare the products that they're going to change from the harvest of the previous day.
A fruit market stall (2021-01-14) by Celeste Laviani (photographer), Itzel Mendoza (Editor), and Alejandra Mendoza (editor)Colectivo Rokunin
Food sovereignty
It is the right of every human being to be able to choose what food to consume, the quantity and form for its consumption, and that these foods be nutritious.
Freshly made (2021-01-14) by Celeste Laviani (photographer), Itzel Mendoza (Editor), and Alejandra Mendoza (editor)Colectivo Rokunin
The grandmothers of the fields say: “What is abundant does not cause damage,” meaning that if you have a lot of a product you can go and exchange it at the market. Without the need for money these women get their weekly food.
Food sovereignty (2021-01-14) by Celeste Laviani (photographer), Itzel Mendoza (Editor), and Alejandra Mendoza (editor)Colectivo Rokunin
Colors, smells, textures
The barter market never lacks ranch eggs, wild flowers, aromatic herbs, colorful corn....
The foods exchanged in this traditional market are generally organic and seasonal, so every Monday the smells, colors and flavors of the market change.
Nutritional wealth (2021-01-14) by Celeste Laviani (photographer), Itzel Mendoza (Editor), and Alejandra Mendoza (editor)Colectivo Rokunin
Rural food
The final result
With the products exchanged in the market, the women cook succulent dishes with which they nourish the body and soul of their families.
Gastronomy Project - Colectivo Rokunin 2021
Barter, Coscomatepec, Veracruz, México.
Content and Text: Itzel Mendoza and Gisela Illescas
Style correction: Alejandra Mendoza
Design: Roberto González
Photographs: Celeste Laviani
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Thanks to Café Femcafe, Vida A.C. and Sanásana.
