Askwali – Thank You To All Who Made the Hopi Farmers Market a Success!

By Susan Secakuku

We had a very successful Hopi farmers market on Sunday. Thank you to all who made it happen.  Success of this kind depends on so many people. 

Special thanks to the 15+ little Hopi Rattlers Tball team for giving back! They and their coaches Daylen, Cheryl, Jory and Renee volunteered on our morning run, kids corner and managed the parking. They were at 6 am, ready to go and stayed until the end. We could not have done it without you!

A grand shout out, to our face-painters, artists JC, Jason, and Tiffany who offered both Hopi art and contemporary work. You are guys are so talented and made the kids so happy!

Thank you to the vendors and organizations, who came out to share all their work. We had people selling baby clothes; fresh flowers, baked goods; fresh eggs, ceramic bowls; vegetable transplants; fresh dill and mint; grape vines; lotions; essential oils; compost and more! Others shared program information on other great community events such as Miss Hopi and Hopi heirloom seeds.

Our Co-op members are simply awesome. We all spent hours and energy to plan, execute and show up to make it happen. About 30 of us were there, talking up food, positive lifestyle changes, and better wellness through local foods. We were overtly seeking new converts!

Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture, Natwani Coalition and Kykotsmovi Water either made a donation, sought funding, or redirected some of their program dollars to support this event. They along with our funders are greatly appreciated.

Lastly, success doesn’t happen unless the rest of the community shows up! There was a steady stream of community who came over the course of 4 hours. They purchased, ate, learned, visited, shared---in essence, they gave back too. 

This market was so successful in many ways.  It is small start to keeping some of the food economy, local here at Hopi. It is a small start for our community to reconnect beyond their families, to freshly grown or freshly made food. It was a small effort that created a social venue to visit with your neighbor. It is a small start for those who have a passion about something, be it baking, sewing, or growing food, to share with enthusiasm, their work with their neighbor. It is beautiful to be a small part of such a successful community!  Thank you all for making it happen!