Lunes, Martes, Miércoles, Jueves, Viernes, Feria!

In a seemingly forgotten backlot behind the Villas Kalimba hotel is Samara’s public park. In my various trips to Samara I have not seen many people flocking to utilize this greenspace. Why would you when the beach is less than 25 yards away? This past year the park became home to the Feria Sámara Market. One of my favorite things about the feria is the unique energy that seemingly springs from the earth every weekend in the middle of town. This quiet and once forgotten park turns into a hotspot for several hours on Saturday mornings. I sat on a park bench with my cup of coffee and took in all the excitement around me. Just listening I hear the melody of the saxophone man who comes to play for the crowds, buzzing insects, singing birds, and the conversations and laughter of passing patrons. As I look around the park I love the visual of more than 40 booths selling a wide array of colorful products against the lush green backdrop of the Samara eco park.

The park saw relatively little use until, interestingly enough, the pandemic happened and some insightful female community leaders saw an opportunity for growth. Lucy Mahlich Barreto, a coworker of mine, Beatriz Jirón Arias who used to serve as CREAR’s English teacher, and Teresita Poliak teamed up to bring a market to Samara. This past Saturday I sat down with Lucy to talk about the history of the feria, the growth they’ve seen in the last couple months, and the challenges still facing this budding market. 

Costa Rican lockdowns shut down most businesses in order to prevent the spread of the virus; only grocery stores and farmers markets (Feria de agricultores in Spanish) were considered essential and allowed to remain open. These ferias are very common in San Jose and other central regions of the country, but the ones in our northwestern province of Guanacaste have a bad reputation of being poorly managed and inconsistent. Because of that, the culture of going to the market was never really adopted by people in this part of the country.  In summer 2020 Lucy and company started working to open a market here in Samara as a way to bring producers and consumers together. After taking the appropriate steps to get approval from the government, the Feria Sámara Market began in September 2020 and has quickly grown into a weekly staple for many residents here in town. 

Farmers and other craftspeople from as far as San Jose will wake up at 3am on Saturday morning to make the 3+ hour drive to Samara and set up their booth. I asked Lucy why would they travel so far to sell their goods when there are already plenty of ferias closer to their home. She explained to me that the markets in the middle of the country are already very popular and many farmers there produce the same goods. When the producers come down from the mountains to the beach they are able to bring more temperate goods that don’t grow as readily in our tropical climate. Lucy also emphasized the value of having diverse clientele for the producers to sell to. Samara is, without a doubt, a tourist town. This place relies heavily on travelers coming to spend time and money in the local economy. And while there are many tourists here, the local Samareños also need to buy groceries and other goods. One big challenge facing the feria right now is the lack of tico shoppers. Lucy says the feria has a reputation amongst locals as “something tourists do”; which creates a stigma against going to the market. Further complicating the issue is the question of masking. Many locals see tourists not wearing masks at the feria and out of fear of getting sick they choose to stay home or shop at the grocery store rather than the market. This past Saturday the feria actually hired a guard to stand at the front gate and enforce mask wearing to great effect. The lack of Tico shoppers is fine during the tourism high season right now, but in the fall when fewer people are traveling who will come to the market to buy these goods? Lucy mentioned that she wanted to begin a more targeted marketing campaign to reach more Costa Ricans and attract new consumers to the market.

Another challenge the feria faces is that of community building. Vendors from across the region and country come to Samara every week to sell their goods. Bringing people together like this is a great way to build community, but what if producers come to Samara, sell their goods and then leave? Lucy told me the story of introducing two producers who’s booths are very near to one another and one gentleman asked the other “so what do you sell?” These men have worked side by side for months and don’t even know what goods the other person is producing. The leaders of the Feria Sámara Market, have a vision and a goal for a stronger community to emerge from the market. A community where producers and consumers are able to offer their services to one another in a display of strong community. From here we got to talking about the Costa Rican concept of “Economia social y solidaria” or a social and solidarity economy. This understanding of the economy relies heavily on small businesses with strong community ties and willingness to help one another. I LOVE this model and it really seems to fit with my personal beliefs as to how societies should operate. From this, the feria organizers are also seeking to increase vendor and client involvement in the market and the park space they inhabit. By creating a sense of belonging or membership there are incentives to take better care of the park and the people around you. 

Vendors sell items ranging from produce to hand made wooden home goods. There are people selling candles and bread and houseplants and coffee and artwork and jewelry, just to name a few. When I asked Lucy what her favorite part of the feria was she thought for a long time before responding “se puede comprar de todo!” You can buy everything! There is such a great selection of high quality goods for sale. I also enjoy seeing some of my students from CREAR here at the market helping their parents sell products or shopping alongside them as they make purchases. One of my students is a regular there as she helps her mom sell hibiscus tea. This little girl attends my English class and I like to offer her pronunciation tips as she peddles her mother’s tea and the garden decorations she makes herself.

Since its launch in September 2020 the feria has seen incredible growth. Hundreds of visitors come through the market every week buying and selling goods. This market is still in its infancy but it has great acclaim amongst the community and I foresee lots of opportunity for growth and expansion in the future.