The organic market was this past Saturday, an almost huge success. . Between 2:30 and 5 we had a constant stream of Chinese and foreign guests interested in organics and the different environmental tables we had set up. All of the farmers and organic food venders who participated were satisfied with their sales and responses from the community, and we sold almost all of the re-usable canvas bags that we had printed.

In fact, other than the blazing sun over our heads all afternoon, the only problem Ashley and I faced was the Chinese media coverage. We each had several interviews with local newspapers throughout the day, and people just couldn’t understand the collaborative effort of the event. Ashley and I tried to impress upon the reporters that we had worked together, that the event was about environmental lifestyles and community supported agriculture, about the innovation of the farmers, and the opportunity for the community to get involved. What we ended up with however, were three headlines that read, “pretty American girls support organic farmers” with pictures that literally cut out our Chinese partners.

Now, although the fact that that phrase does translate into a slightly catchy slogan, “meiguo mei nu…..” I found this disappointing. After so many attempts to engage all of our contributors as equals… a list serve, multiple meetings, lots of encouragement to innovate and develop everyone’s ideas, everyone kept deferring to Ashley and I as the leaders. Why was no one taking credit for their hard work and ideas for the community?
To be honest, I have asked myself this question a few times through some of my project with students or other NGO stakeholders in China. While competitive behavior abounds in schools and in more traditional areas of work, I think where new ideas are concerned, people are more timid. I’ve been told many times that this is a residual effect of the cultural revolution (!) and the modest Chinese cultural heritage, which seems reasonable… But it’s hard to gauge how much everyone is buying into your ideas, when the ideas are based in group ownership and community growth, and people are reticent to take responsibility.

Lastly, even though I was disappointed with the reporting, what is the impact of this framing. Does using a foreign face attract more Chinese people to the market? Or, is it a repellant to the kind of environmentally conscious consumer that we are trying to target? I really have no idea. Hopefully we can find answers next month when we try it again. At least my local fruit vender recognized me from the pictures however, and, in a few minutes of laughing and exaggerated hand movements, made it clear that he now understood the connection between my refusal of plastic bags with environmental protection.