The EcoFeria is now 6 years old since its founder Estela Aguilar opened its doors in Domi Plaza, Dominical. Estela was joined by Keyna and Krishna Solano, as well as Gretel Solorzano, who was a great help the first year.
For several years the slogan of this beautiful project was “free of plastics and pesticides”, today it has a new one, “a market that unites communities, hands and hearts”, which clearly defines what EcoFeria is.
Our team of journalists spoke with Keyna Solano about the great dream that is already a reality and that they have seen grow more and more, despite the adversities.
The EcoFeria has had an extremely enriching experience, it is a project that has become the heart of a community, both from the producers to the community, as well as the organization in general.
“It has been an experience of friendship, of protection of the community, of community development, it is an experience of protection of Costa Rican values and openness to foreign communities that come to live in harmony with us,” said Keyna, co-founder of the EcoFeria.
For Keyna, it is interesting to see how many vendors and clients arrive, as they always comment, “How do they realize it? because they have not as such doing a very wide type of publicity until now.
The dedication, the time, the vendors
In the EcoFeria, community support has been one of the greatest acts and with it, the harmony with the producers, the joy that you feel when you enter the fair, you feel a jovial atmosphere, a welcome for all the clients that arrive and this is not only done by the organization but also by each vendor, each one of them has understood the concept of attention, “when we interview the vendors, they know that to be part of the EcoFeria, they understand that we are a project that is created for and by the community and that this has to be in harmony with their values, They know that to be part of the EcoFeriase understands that we are a project that is created for and by the community and that this has to harmonize with its values, the treatment given to the customer, even that there is no harassment of the customer when he enters to try to sell him, but that there is a nice atmosphere, a good presentation of the product, that a visitor is allowed to pass freely,” said Solano.
Everyone’s dream
The Produce Fair is held every Friday of the year from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., except Good Friday because it is a very Costa Rican tradition.
Keyna expressed that they are very grateful with what they have achieved and also dreaming very big with a giant market that can open several days a week, “we do not stop dreaming of a place of our own that is a giant artisan market where producers have facilities to bring their products and can open their stalls, I dream of an indoor market that will open more days a week and at some point always open and continue with the same concepts and values with which the EcoFeria was born,” she said.
Pandemic opened up possibilities for growth
Before the pandemic, Keyna emphasized that the EcoFeria was in a good moment, and after it, they were reinforced with an online fair: www.ecoferiadominical.com.
“The physical part was very affected because we were closed for more than a year, when we managed to reopen it was like starting with a name, but starting from scratch with people to socialize again, to remember what it was to be in community and thank God we are here again,” she added.
In the online fair, all the products go with the same harmony as with the physical fair, although through the web they were able to integrate more producers, organic and agroecological farms that, for different circumstances of distance, can not come to sell at the physical fair.
They have a line of meats, milk, eggs, coconut milk, and many other products that are delicious, one of these products may be in the online fair, this is where the client combines and requests that product and buys the others directly at the fair.
Depending on the season, between the two projects in the EcoFeria, they can have from 60 to 100 vendors; in the physical fair, they have from 50 to 80 vendors.
Activities and alliances
The co-founder of the EcoFeria emphasized that, throughout this time they have been the voice of the people in the community, where they have created groups and alliances with different organizations to protect the environment, “that is what calls us the most and we have also created an alliance with Bitcoin Jungle, we were the first place in the world to use this method of local payment with bitcoin. Every Friday we keep giving information, explaining to people how Bitcoin Jungle works, facilitating a new way to give economy to the community”.
For Keyna, the Bitcoin Jungle project has given a new line of clientele and tourism that come to Costa Rica just to experience shopping, from the hotel to the food, all in Bitcoin.
Within the EcoFeria, they have a stand for the lifeguards of Dominical, “this is another important issue to support, Dominical has moved for more than 25 years to lifeguards, because, without lifeguards, every 19 days a person dies on the beach because it is the most nationally known beach for its danger, in itself, all lifeguards are extremely important and we have a donation for them: To give them a space every Friday so they can raise funds through t-shirt sales and more, we also do this with a new local bookstore that opened, a non-profit that we are working with them on.”
Regarding activities, there have been numerous activities for 6 years, one of them very special is the Christmas Market in which gifts are also made, where the whole community joins and where the funds that are collected are used back in the locality.
They also managed to bring Dominical, the three best dance companies in Costa Rica to make an unforgettable presentation.
The changes
We asked Keyna what changes she has noticed in herself during these six years and she recalled that when her mother started the EcoFeria, she (Keyna) joined the EcoFeria the following Friday because she was concerned as a woman that her children and the children growing up in the community would see that there were other ways to create successful alternative projects “and with a new way of walking the earth, this continues to be a dream that has marked the lives of many children”.
Solano considers that, in effect, he has been able to grow as a human being and has been able to understand how human beings intertwine when there is love, when there is a dream when there is joy when there are smiles, when there is healthy food, “I call it – the economy of happiness – because for me the EcoFeria has brought so much happiness to each of the people who have joined and I do not escape from that joy, it has empowered me, it has given me one more reason to live, it has made me believe in the beauty of humanity and that together, we can continue to change the way we write our history”.
In this way, the co-founder of the EcoFeria, said as a reflective message that we all have the opportunity to create a change even if we see it as silly, even if we see it as simple, “because this is how the EcoFeria began, we started in a vacant lot, without water, without electricity and now we are something wonderful, that fills many hearts with joy and that we support more than a hundred families every week, because not only are the producers but also where the producers get their raw materials. Always think about what and how you use your money, before supporting a corporation or a company you should investigate how this company gives back to the community, that you take the time to understand that every day we can create a change, and that you come and join us every Friday at the fair where we welcome you with a dance, a laugh, a joke, and even a cultural event”.
If you don’t have the opportunity to come here, you can support us as you wish; support your local markets wherever you are…
Special Thanks
Keyna: “A special thanks to The Costa Rica News for the support they gave us from the beginning, the push they gave us was gigantic, we will never stop thanking you for that great contribution, and we hope to count on you again”.
