FAREWELL REFLECTIONS – Week 11

What, So What, Now What? – Reflecting on our last moments and wrapping up…

WHAT

Throughout our time in LFS 350 and working the the North Shore Artisan Farmers’ Markets, we experienced many ups downs, many challenges, many “Why are we doing this” conversations, and frequent uncertainty. It was a long journey to the finish line, but now that we are nearing it, we are experiencing our first moments of victory and evidence of the success of our work up to this point.

During this journey, the most important aspect of our project was the methods we used for data collection. We first transferred 10 years of hardcopy vendor data from all three Artisan Markets into an electronic database where it was organized by location, name and type of sellers. This was an incredibly tedious process, but ended up serving us later and contributed to our final victory moment.

Before creating the survey questions we made an initial trip to both Lonsdale and Ambleside Markets to understand context of the environments of our future survey participants. From there, we developed draft survey questions, had them approved by our community partner, made appropriate changes, and finalized our surveys. We traveled to both markets and collected more in-person surveys than we intended, but still felt like we wanted to collect more data. We decided to contact other vendors that were not present when we visited the markets via email. Collectively, we were able to formulate an online survey through UBC’s platform to replicate a physical copy that we had handed out at the farmer’s markets. In total we received more than 60 survey responses in total and completely blew our original goals out of the water!

 

SO WHAT? 

Data analysis was definitely something that was a moment of significance for the group research project. All of our activities in data collection over the past month required everyone to collaborate. We had piles of data. What kind of analysis could we do? What conclusions could we make from this data? What tools did we need? How could we organize it? It was daunting and scary to look at

Those were the questions that were running through our heads. We had a variety of data that needed to be analyzed computationally and it was entirely up to us. The prospect of success in the early stages was daunting. Luckily Ayra, had a pretty solid understanding of statistical analysis and ANOVA. She had previous experience with handling data and running statistical analysis on numbers just like these. This was a big turn for the project as these were analysis tools that could give us results and conclusions that would actually be realistic and relevant for our community partner. The milestone was definitely finally getting a real understanding of the data we collected.

As Ayra was running some analysis, we began to notice important patterns. For example, farmers were doing the best financially than any other type of vendor and the longer the farmers sold at a market, the more money they tended to earn daily. It was exciting to see as we were already thinking about what to include into our report and what conclusions we could make for our presentations and infographic.

All in all, we were able to collect data from vendors, compile it, and analyze it to understand the attitudes of farmers and what their motivations are. As we are beginning to see some patterns and conclusions, we are starting to pick out what what we believe is most important for our final report. Tara was able to help us significantly with the data analysis and she was very interested in the patterns that we were discovering together. It was one the project’s deliverables to collect more data that could be useful for Tara. We were lucky enough to have Ayra and Tara work together to make something of the numbers that we had collected, and she loved the data.

Now What

With the results in, we are excited to see what we can do with the data. It is exciting that we can already make some conclusions from what we have. 

Although we will be including all of our findings in our final report to our community partner, we need to choose which items are most important for our infographic and presentation next week.

For example

  • 57% of vendors say the type of customers in this market are what they enjoy most
  • 73% of vendors say that the market location are what they enjoy most
  • 33% of vendors say that the change in market location is the most challenging aspect in selling at the market
  • 27% of vendors say that the amount of sales made is the most challenging aspect when selling at the market

We are now moving forward with transferring our data and conclusions onto both an infographic presentation and final report. We never would have been able to come to these conclusions the way we have without all of the little victories that lead to our eureka moment with our data. From this results, we are slowly beginning to come up with implications. Why are these numbers important? What can we do to change these numbers? Now, as a group, we are deciding what our recommendations are for the market as the ultimate goal is to have a market structure that integrates the needs of vendors, consumers and the community. For ambleside, our data suggest the location of the market has been an issue therefore our recommendation is to increase marketing and accessibility to the new location in Ambleside. As for Lonsdale, increase consumer participation for increased profit is needed. Our recommendation is to increase an incentive for consumers to participate  which can include coupons and community events. Now, this research is not yet complete. The class of LFS 350 2018 aims to support the ultimate goal of vendor and consumer participation. Future research will give us a better understanding on implications to make both parties happy.

It has been a great semester being involved in this community research, and we can’t wait to see the impact we have on this market! We all had a great time with this project, and it was blessing to be working with great group mates as well as an engaging community partner. Big thanks our TA Willson Mendez, Will Valley, and the teaching team for being by our side and giving us support when needed. Along with the further research to be conducted in the future, we can see big a big future for market improvement!      

Preparing For A Successful Completion – Week 9

Weekly Objectives and Achievements

Weeks Weekly objectives Achievements
7 Next trip to the farmers markets to conduct surveys.

→ October 21st and 22nd.

Finish question bank and formatting survey

Survey questions need to be reviewed by Tara

Questions have been approved by Tara and it looks like she likes our proposal and our project is pretty much formed.

Hard copy surveys have been distributed to vendors at  Ambleside – table 1

Started data entry on excel

Finalized our survey with necessary questions

8 Team working meeting  –  Cold call and email randomly selected vendors to complete survey

Finish data collection with physical surveys at remaining farmer’s market (Lonsdale)

Online surveys are created

Email surveys have been sent to 434 vendors (have participated in the past / are participating in the market) in both Ambleside and Lonsdale locations – table 1

42 online responses received from vendors

Start organizing online responses

Data from hard copy surveys have been entered and organized

Completed physical survey data collection at both Farmers Markets

Started working on blog post 3

9 Mapping moments of significance

Blog post due

Finish data entry from all collected data

Start analyzing data through ANOVA

Submitted blog post 3

Reflection through completion of skills/emotion/knowledge graphs in tutorial

Collected data are prepared for analyzation

Achievements in detail:
Table 1. Number of surveys sent to vendors/responses received from vendors

Type of Surveys Locations Number of Surveys

Distributed/Sent to Vendors  

Number of Responses from Vendors
Email (online) Ambleside & Lonsdale 434 42
Hard copy Ambleside 20 19
Hard Copy Lonsdale 8 5

Moments of Significant Change

      During tutorial session, our group’s participation in the “Moments of Significant Change” workshop helped us reflect on working with the Artisan Farmers’ Markets and the process of experiential learning. First, we individually assessed how our emotions, values, beliefs, and attitudes have changed since week one. To do this, we set up a graph with the y axis as “stages of emotion” (sad, neutral, satisfied, happy) and the x axis as “weeks” (1 to 13). As one could expect, our individual emotions graph each had ups and downs in different weeks. However, upon combining our graphs into one collective group graph, as the second part of the workshops, it was clear that we experienced similar dips in our emotions during week 3 and 4. When discussing our reasons for feeling this way during those weeks, many of us expressed that uncertainty of where the project was headed played a key role. Furthermore, some of us felt frustration due to conflicting goals from the Artisan Farmers’ Markets and the course objectives. However, as the graph indicates, weeks 4 to 8 have been increasingly positive in terms of emotions for everyone in the group. As the group continued on and we received feedback from our project proposal, increased confidence within our group led to better attitudes and emotions within the group. We were very fortunate to have the Artisan Farmers Markets general manager, Tara, join us in tutorial this week and it was interesting to see how this experience has been so far from her perspective. It turns out, our group was able to share the same excitement with the Artisan Farmers’ Markets in terms of emotions after week 4. In fact, we felt like this workshop helped us bond with our community partner immensely through reflecting on our work so far and having the opportunity to celebrate our achievements thus far.

      The Moments of Significant Change Workshop also allowed us to reflect on the development of  our knowledge and skills since week one. Again, we set up individual graphs first with the y axis as “beginner, moderate, pro” and the x axis as “weeks” (1-13). After combining our individual graphs into a group graph, we saw some similar patterns. As indicated by the photo of the graph below, our group have experienced steady growth in knowledge and skills. During discussion, we all felt like visiting the farmers’ markets during week 3 and 4 was a significant experiential learning moment. It was interesting to share and witness how each group member gained something different from the experience. Despite visiting the same markets and talking to the same vendors, we all took home different knowledge and remembered different parts of conservations we shared with vendors. As far as skills development go, there has been a steady growth as well. However, the development has been slower than our growth in knowledge. Upon reflecting on this pattern, our group came up with one possible reason for this. Throughout the project, we have been utilizing individual’s’ strengths to complement for each others’ weaknesses. For example, if one group member’s weakness is blog writing, another group member will step in while the other member, who is weak a writing, can spend her/his time contributing to the project in a more productive way. Thus, we have limited ourselves in skills development in some aspects. With that being said, our group agreed that we have all developed teamwork skills throughout the project. This includes communication, attentive listening, problem-solving, and negotiation.

       Moving forward, we have agreed that maintaining the upward growth for emotions will be crucial to our success for completing this project. Although a busy month is ahead of us, this tutorial workshop helped us reflect on the importance of keeping a positive attitude. In addition, we agreed to keep expanding our knowledge and skills by switching up some roles for the remaining weeks. We are excited to help each other out in developing and bettering our skill sets. Check out our graphs below!

Graceful Dismount

Over the past two weekends we split our team between Lonsdale and Ambleside to distribute the surveys we had worked with the Artisan Farmers’ Markets general manager to develop. After collecting as many surveys as possible in-person, we distributed electronic versions of the survey to current and past vendors via email. By the end of the month we will have analyzed our collected data and presented our findings to the organization. As this time approaches, we need to start thinking about how we can ensure that our project can be utilized and further developed for the future.

Our team is in a unique situation where, fortunately for the Artisan Farmers’ Markets, a new group of LFS 350 students will be taking on a similar project in 2018. Thus, we will be able to pass on our project to this new group without having to worry about whether or not our efforts will be abandoned. This reality gives us comfort, but also requires that we recognize our responsibility to ensure that our project is useful for the farmers’ markets general manager and for the new team of students when setting up their project to collect customer data in January.

In terms of an exit strategy with the Artisan Farmers’ Markets Society, there is not much we will be able to do to ensure that the work that we have done will be actioned by staff. However, we can ensure that the way in which we present our findings to the society is clearly actionable. We will try to make sure that we present our infographic and report with clarity and provide an analysis that combines reflections with recommendations. In this way we hope that the general manager will be able to use our report to guide her in developing the society’s next steps.

Similarly, we need to make sure that our report is also useful for the next student team coming in. These students will have access to all of our final results (infographic, surveys, blog, report) to help them shape the second part of the project. However, it would be best for us to develop a method to pass on how we got to where we did. To make sure this group can get off to the best start possible, we will make sure that our blog is reflective of every step we took during this community based learning project and that the general manager is also familiar with what methods worked and didn’t work for us. We hope that a deep reflective conversation with our community partner will help her to guide the next group to avoid the mistakes we did.

All in all, we have had a successful run so far and are excited to bring all that we have gathered together for our final presentation.

Strategies for a Graceful Dismount

Task 1: Find common themes from our interview data and connect the dots

Task 2: Work on group cooperation and communication

(Week 8-9)

    • After transcribing recordings/interview responses, start categorizing data and look for supporting quotes that give the report credibility;
    • Begin discussing commonalities among the compiled data for analysis that supports a conclusion and gives us the insight on next steps; and,
    • Team working meeting  –  Cold call and email randomly selected vendors to complete survey 
    • Keep all group members engaged and participating when discussing trends.

(Ongoing)

    • Ensure that all group members are informed and on-top of our research;
    • Keep group members caught-up with new data entries, ideas, correlations, conclusions, and discussions; and,
    • Keep up with deadlines to ensure the project is following the timeline and to resolve and obstacles that arise.

PROGRESS – WEEK 6

Project Proposal: See here

Weekly Objectives and Achievements

Weekly Objectives Achievements
Week 1 Decide on a Community Project

 

We were all assigned to prefered projects
Week 2 Meet Group

Complete Terms of Reference

Set up Group Blog

We introduced ourselves and collectively agreed on a Terms Of Reference to start the foundation of this group project

We created a platform for communications (Facebook group) and a shared drive online to access our work

We created our group blog site and ensured that everyone had access

Week 3 Finish 1st Group Blog Posting (Sept 22)

Meet with Community Partner

Determine group goals and objectives

Develop rough idea of project schedule for the term

Established a plan for our initial visit to the farmers’ market

Met with Community Partner to establish expectations

Roughly decided on our main focus question and that we would likely do quantitative research

Created Group Calendar online

Week 4 Finish Tara’s Data Entry (Sept 30)

Complete Research Ethics Tutorial Online (Oct 1)

Group decided not to go forward with completing data entry by Sept 30 → deadline extended and expectations lowered

Everyone finished Research Ethics Tutorial online

Week 5 Visit Farmer’s Markets (Sept 30th and Oct 1st) The group split into two teams; 3 went to Lonsdale on Saturday and 3 went to Ambleside on Sunday. Lonsdale group focused on volunteer work and Ambleside group focused on conversations with vendors. Both groups returns with a good idea of what main concepts would need to be included on the surveys.
Week 6 Meeting with Community Partner

Completion of Proposal

Proposal Revision with Community Partner

Completion of Interview Questions

Preparing the surveys

Blog post 2 due

Proposal due

Both Artisan Farmer’s Market groups met with the community partner to clarify and finalize interview/survey questions

The project proposal was finished, submitted and approved by the community partner

The group set weekly objectives for the rest of the semester

It was decided to use ANOVA methods to analyze quantitative data

Survey interview questions formed

Blog post was submitted!

Week 7 Next trip to the farmers markets to conduct surveys. October 21st and 22nd. Questions have been approved by Tara and it looks like she likes our proposal and our project is pretty much formed.
Week 8 Team working meeting: Cold call and email randomly selected vendors to complete survey
Week 9 Mapping moments of significance

Blog post due (Nov 5)

Week 10 Team working meeting:

  1. Collect and categorize all data using ANOVA and analyze
  2. Complete draft of project report (focus on methods and results)
Week 11 Complete initial draft of infographic
Week 12 Define expectations and create strategies for completing our final project and deliverables

Discuss capacity building as essential in creating sustained change in communities

Final blog post due (November 26)

Submit infographic

Week 13 Presentation at public poster night in the AMS Nest (November 29th)
Week 14 Final project report

Highlights so far…

Visiting the farmers’ markets

 

Meeting with community partner

Putting together survey questions

REFLECTIONS:

What, So What, Now What? – Reflecting on a moment of significance that has occurred in the course so far…

WHAT?

When we were first introduced to the project, it was clear what the Artisan Farmers’ Markets’ objective was. However, we felt so overwhelmed by the prospect of how to achieve their objective and our class objectives, that we didn’t feel like we could do both. During Week 2, we learned about Asset-based Community Development in class. This concept challenged us to learn to listen and to only move forward with projects that were of importance to the communities. We began to realize that we didn’t just have one partner, the Artisan Farmers’ Markets, in this project – in reality, we had two.

We were in a situation where we were trying to meet the academic goals and learning objectives of the course we were taking. This involved structured requirements set out not only by the course but in order to satisfy the faculty and university we study in. At the same time, we were also tasked with trying to fulfil the needs and objectives of a completely separate non-profit partner. Not only did both of these organizations have different ideas about how to structure the project and its final outcomes, but the missions that drive the actions of both organizations are also fundamentally distinct. At this stage we felt stuck, without a set plan to confidently move forward. How could we possibly achieve such seemingly different objectives? How would we communicate between two parties that thought and acted so differently? How would we manage everything? Which objectives would we prioritize? There were so many things to think about. And, as it turned out, class couldn’t prepare us for how to deal with what happens when multiple partner objectives were in contrast with each other – only real world experience could do that.

SO WHAT?

We stayed frustrated and overwhelmed for a couple of weeks. We tried to communicate to our academic partner that we weren’t sure if we were able to meet all of our class goals while focusing 100% of our efforts on the Artisan Farmers Markets’ goals. We tried to communicate to  the Artisan Farmers Markets that we were nervous that we wouldn’t be able to fully complete their main objective if we were also to prioritize our academic requirements. It wasn’t until we had a face-to-face conversation with our TA (our most direct link and representative of our academic partner) that we were able to start to fully understand how the bulk of both partners’ objectives could still be met simultaneously and realistically.

Eureka moment!

It was after this that we started to gain confidence in our set objectives, proposal, and project as a whole. We now started to realize that although this kind of dilemma is frustrating and not always simple to find solutions around, it happens in real life to non-profits and academics – all the time. We had finished the lecture during Week 2 with the false impression that there is only ever one partner whose needs we need to take into account when taking on a project. But, this is not the case in many situations. What happens when a government has to pass a law that will satisfy the needs of multiple constituencies? What happens when a non-profit carries out a project using third-party funding and their objectives don’t really match with the community’s? What happens when a researcher is paid by their own government to take on a project in a foreign country? Or when an employee has to complete a task that will fulfil the needs of multiple departments at work? There is rarely ever just one community partner. Asset-based Community Development can and most often will mean listening to and fulfilling the objectives of multiple communities whose needs may possibly be contradictory.

NOW WHAT?

This realization didn’t make the situation any less frustrating or suddenly allowed us to satisfy each partner perfectly. But, it did give us the inspiration and confidence to find solutions to move forward.

First, We needed to talk to each other. We were in a unique situation where not only were we working with two different partners, but each of our partners was working with two groups of us. Yet, both our North Van group and the Burnaby group hadn’t communicated much during the early days of the project planning. Because of this we had been feeling overwhelmed separately, instead of finding ways to move forward together. During the same face-to-face that we had with our TA and professor, we also had a check-in with each other and decided collectively to start steering away from trying to satisfy 100% of the Artisan Farmers’ Markets’ objectives in order to make sure we were meeting the needs of everyone.

We needed to compromise. Some of the Artisan Farmers’ Markets; key objectives were simpler tasks that we didn’t feel challenged us in anyway. But, in order to compromise we would still have to try them. Our group finished as much of our community partner’s data entry as we reasonably could amidst deadlines and our other responsibilities. When it was time to shift gears towards the research portion of the project, our community partner agreed to accept the work we had achieved so far – even though it was not 100% completed. We also knew that during our initial farmers’ market visits we wouldn’t be able to attend as volunteers and get all the responses from all the vendors that we needed to build the surveys. Instead, when the time came to attend, we split up into two groups; one focussed their time primarily on volunteering and the other ensured that they visited and had conversations with every single vendor at the market.

We needed to make hard decisions. Coming to the decision to make those compromises wasn’t easy for us. It still isn’t easy. We are still deciding whether we should split the group between volunteers and surveyors during our next market visit or commit strictly to our surveys. Encouraging the Artisan Farmers Markets to make these decisions with us is what really helped us make executive decisions.

 

Identifying upcoming objectives and strategies to achieve them.

Now that our proposal is completed, finalized, and approved by our community partner, we can now get to the fun stuff and actually start this research project! We have selected new dates to visit the Artisan Farmers’ Markets. The group will be split into 2 teams with 3 members each visiting Lonsdale Quay on October 21st and the Ambleside location on October 22nd. Here are our upcoming tasks as we move forward with our project:

Task 1: To finalize and format our physical survey and interview questions and decide on effective data collection methods
(Week 6/7)

    • Have our community partner to give us tips on how to formulate questions that are appropriate and quantifiable for ANOVA analysis;
    • Develop proper wording and framing for specific answers formatted for analysis and supports the research question;
    • Ask for tips on when to approach vendors to extract the best information we can during interviews; and,
    • Make the survey an appropriate length that is concise, visually appealing, and easy to administer, collect data, and self-report.

Task 2: Finalize project timeline and deadlines for goals on data analysis and report writing (Week 7)

    • Start collaborative google doc to plan our timeline for the rest of the semester;
    • Prompt data entry onto excel as soon as possible after it has been collected; and,
    • Keep data organized and accessible.

Task 3: Find common themes from our interview data and connect the dots
(Week 8-9)

    • After transcribing recordings/interview responses, start categorizing data and look for supporting quotes that give the report credibility;
    • Begin discussing commonalities among the compiled data for analysis that supports a conclusion and gives us the insight on next steps; and,
    • Keep all group members engaged and participating when discussing trends.

Task 4: Work on group cooperation and communication
(Ongoing)

    • Ensure that all group members are informed and on-top of our research;
    • Keep group members caught-up with new data entries, ideas, correlations, conclusions, and discussions; and,
    • Keep up with deadlines to ensure the project is following the timeline and to resolve and obstacles that arise.

 

The Start of Something Beautiful – The Triple Bottom Line of Farmers’ Markets; choosing people, planet, or profit?

Hello world,

Welcome to the start of something beautiful, a community project that will focus on helping the Ambleside and Lonsdale Quay Artisan Farmer’s Markets to become a more accommodating place for vendors to thrive.

Meet the Team:


Lets start with
an introduction of our group members and some more information on our project!


Rita Steele
BSc. Global Resource Systems + Masters in Management Dual Degree Program

Within my program, I specialize in Ethics and Sustainability in Global Supply Chains. I am really interested in topics such as Fair Trade, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Trade & Environment Policy. I am currently working my first job in CSR with TD Bank Group and manage two non-profit organizations focused on the areas of Rural Education and Fair Trade Advocacy. I chose this project because it will give me the chance to hone in on skills I am trying to build up as I begin my first year in business school. I am excited to improve on the interviewing and data analysis skills that I had started to develop through other courses at UBC. This project is also especially relevant to my interests as my group will be taking on somewhat of a consultant’s role in our interactions with the North Vancouver Farmer’s Market. Consulting is currently an area I am exploring for my post-graduate career and so this project will give me a healthy amount of exposure to real world application. In my free time I’m an avid hiker/backpacker!


Jenny Lu
BSc. Global Resource Systems
4th Year

I am specializing in environmental and sustainability studies within my program. I am particularly interested in environmental policy and am hoping to go into environmental law after graduation. I chose this project as it presents an opportunity for me to give back and be more involved in a community that I am already a part of. I am looking forward to developing professional skills as this is the first time I will be collaborating with others on a larger project that will have real impacts on the community. This is an exciting opportunity to apply my in-class knowledge in the real world and I am positive that this experience will lead to the development of new professional skills such as communication, conflict resolution, and decision-making. I am looking forward to the immense personal and professional growth that this project will allow. In my freetime, I enjoy playing sports and trying new foods.

 


Andrew Nguyen
BSc. Food, Nutrition and Health + Masters in Management Dual Degree Program
3rd Year

I am very excited to be getting involved in the community and getting a beyond-the-classroom learning experience. I believe this experience will open my mind and other experiences that can further contribute to professional and career development. I’m excited to explore a real market and see how business really works. As a part business student, I chose this project to explore what managing a market can be like. I wanted to tie both my specializations together and see how our food system analyzing skills can better this organization and the community. Although I am still developing project management skills, I want to be more confident with communication between partners and external relations. I want to improve on leadership skills that encourage effective teamwork within our group. I also want to be able to oversee the logistics of the project so that I know what is happening at all times. On the side,  one of my hobbies is just simply enjoying the outdoors!


Niki Najafi
BSc. Animal Applied Biology + Pre-med
5th year

I have a great passion for both science and business. Currently, I run a small business based in Vancouver while studying to become a physician. This is a wonderful opportunity to apply everything I learned in so far to this project. I would like to improve my communication skills as well through the interview process. Finally, I am eager to learn about the artisan community and find solutions for farmers. My team and I will look at this project from every angle and will come up with a substantial strategy for the north shore market. It is very exciting to be part this project.


Ayra Casuga
BSc. Food, Nutrition, and Health – Major in Food Science + Masters in Management Dual Degree Program
4th year

It is a privilege to be part of a diverse team and to gain the opportunity to engage with community members in a local artisan market setting. I chose this project because I wanted the opportunity to learn more about the local products in terms of creativity, processing, and the complex issues they face in starting up their own business. I am interested in learning more about what drives suppliers’ decisions to sell their products in farmers markets, and  if there any barriers or  hurdles they have to consider. In terms of skills, I want to improve on my communication skills with community members as well as improve my ability to make concrete conclusions on complex problems through data analysis. I wish to further improve on my communication skills and problem solving ability in hopes to provide valuable information to small business owners on how they can overcome any economical or social issues they may have. Besides that, I am an avid yogi, wine enthusiast, tech lover, wannabe entrepreneur, nutrition and fitness advocate, and an outdoor explorer.


Lily Han
BSc. Food and Environment
3rd year

My passion and interest for food began with my initial major in Food, Nutrition and Health. After taking a course on applied biology and sustainability (APBI260), my interest shifted and I wanted to focus on how communities and small-scale farmers can work together to create a farming system that is more ecocentric. I chose this project because I have been going to the West Vancouver and North Vancouver artisan market for years but never thought to consider the mechanisms behind it. I have never conducted my own interview and collected my own data before. I would like to experience that process with this project. For the same reasons, I would like to interview at least one farmer. I am looking forward to working with my LFS 350 team as well as the vendors and farmers at the market to research and understand how it operates.


Team Background and Project Focus:


When we first met up as a group, we first shared why we were here. Why did we choose Artisan Farmers Markets as our community project? We found common ground in that we were interested in finding out the existing relationship between small businesses and their ties to local markets. Specifically, we were excited to explore the dynamics of the Ambleside and Londsdale Quay Artisan Farmer’s Markets and find ways to maximize the market for vendors and in turn, consumers. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, our group’s common interest to work with farmers’ markets contributed to our individual decision in selecting this project. Furthermore, we share the same passion to create change for the better and improve North Vancouver’s communities’ well being through enhancing the local farmers markets. We all had different exposures to farmers markets, if any, and were all eager to learn more about this type of market. Throughout the process of this project, we are hoping to develop a better understanding of the farmers markets and community dynamic by critically analyzing the relationship which vendors hold with the community and market. On an individual level, we hope that this project will provide a valuable opportunity to develop professional skills related to working in a team setting. Skills such as negotiation, productive meeting management, and collaboration will allow our team members to succeed in our future endeavours. We are looking forward to being involved with the Artisan Farmer’s Markets and contributing our knowledge, analyzing skills, and passion to further improve this organization.

The Artisan Farmer’s Markets has three locations including Burnaby, Ambleside, and Lonsdale Quay. This project will be focusing on the North Shore locations, Ambleside and Lonsdale Quay.

The primary objective of this project is to develop an understanding of the important aspects for vendors when it comes to their decision in choosing to sell at Artisan Farmer’s Markets. In order to dissect this market, we would not using our expertise and knowledge with external perspectives. Instead our goal is to explore the market by understanding and getting to know the market as a local consumer or vendor and discovering what their views are. As we learned in class, the community input and consultation is tremendously valuable when developing meaningful research. This understanding will allow the markets to suggest changes to their structure to create a more accommodating environment for vendors.

Team’s First Impressions:


After our first meeting with Tara, the General Manager of all three Artisan Farmer’s Markets, we were feeling a mix of emotions. We were excited, overwhelmed, motivated, and most of all, uncertain. We were given the thrillingly exciting task of transforming 10 years of handwritten records into electronic data files. The records include all vendor information from 2006 to 2016, and re-organizing this data is the building block for the rest of the project. Acknowledging the  importance of asset-based community development is key to our success with this project and thus, we will need to critically analyze the data records to determine the existing strengths of the markets. Building on the identified strengths of the markets, we are excited to speak with vendors to gain insights as they are citizens of the community and are at the centre of development. We recognize that we are to serve the community, and it is through meaningful engagement by attending the markets and getting to know the vendors’ stories which will lead us to helping the markets develop in ways that are suited to the needs of the community, including vendors. Another interesting component of the farmers market dynamic is the relationships that exists within and beyond, in the communities. The asset-based community development approach emphasizes on the relationships involved to build community and thus, it is also impetrate that we keep an open mind to seek a comprehensive understanding of the various relationships between vendors and the community to reach our end goal. 

Reflecting from Ernesto Sirolli’s TED talk, this interaction with the Executive Director of the Artisan Farmers’ Markets was an exercise in listening to what a community needs rather than imposing ideas onto them. We sat down with the community partner representative and asked her what they was looking for, later sharing what our expectations and deliverables were as well. It turned out that the markets needed a lot more help than we originally thought, in ways we hadn’t pictured before this in-person meeting. Despite the initial shock and uncertainty running through our minds, we were committed to think together to better learn about what is needed. We were able to plan our group project around the community partner’s needs so that the plan incorporated the priorities and needs of the Artisan Farmers Markets.

As a group, we are looking forward to working with vendors to gain an insight as to why they are selling at the location they have chosen. We recognize it will be important for us to keep an open-mind when speaking with them and be actively conscious of Ernesto Sirolli’s advice of being respectful or in his words, “to shut up and listen”. We are looking forward to continuing to apply the asset-based community development model to our project by listening to the vendors’ ideas and helping them to find the knowledge necessary in improving the communities within the Farmer’s Markets.

Stacks on stacks on stacks of handwritten records yay

Team photo with Tara, General Manager of the Artisan Farmer’s Markets.

This project is just getting started. We already have some great discussions and ideas for how we are going to explore the Artisan Farmers Markets. Next week, we will be getting an opportunity to get our first glimpse of these markets which will help us focus our research questions and form our project proposal. We are excited to share our great ideas, insights, and discoveries so stay tuned until our next blog post!