Georgian association of educational initiatives

What is a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture

•Mass consumption society, and mass production industry that developed from 2nd part of XXth century lead to a point when going on in this direction of production leads to an ecological-social and economical crash.

•Customers are offered low quality food, easy and cheap to produce and to transport.

General context

This situation poisons:

•The environment with an over-consumption of gasoline for transportation, and the high use of pesticides in the production.

•Our health because of the bad quality and lack of diversity of our food.

In Georgia:

•Local farming is threatened by:

- the lack of information about the market

- financial insecurity (difficult access to loans)

- mass-imported products

•The huge potential of agriculture in Georgia, traditional ways of producing food and cultural solidarity of people let us believe that today and in future it is still possible to handle the situation.

•=> a concept emerged in different countries around the world and and it is being developed for more than 20 years:

Community Supported Agriculture

That is why more and more people in the world are trying to find alternative ways of consumption and production based on the respect of environment and people.

Brief history

•In the 1960’s in Japan, after serious pollution of mercury, a collective of women decided to make a contract with a farmer.

•They would buy from him regularly, and in exchange he would agree to supply only products without chemicals.

•From this idea the CSA has developed.

Community

•Members:

local farmers & consumers from the city

Supported

Based on solidarity and fairtrade

•Consumers and farmers share the risks that face the farmer during production and selling process (natural risks, competition on the market…)

Agriculture

•Promote local farming, traditional way of farming, without any agrochemicals

Concretely?

An agreement between

farmers and consumers:

The farmer will deliver regularly local /diverse /quality / fresh products

Consumers will pay in advance the products to the farmer

Example

Payment for 4 deliveries

1st week 2nd week 3rd week 4th week

Deliveries of products in agreed time and place

Payment for 4 deliveries

Example of one distribution session

Today

1kg of tomatoes

1kg of potatoes

1 melon

1kg of peaches

1kg of apples

1 cheese

The farmer announces a list of available products for each basket, and everyone compose his own basket.

Commitments for consumers

•Pay in advance for future deliveries

•Agree 1 month in advance to take their products

•Accept the products that are offered

• Take in charge some distributions (help to install products and tidy up after)

Commitments for the farmer

Regularly supply the city

Supply good quality, fresh, local, diverse, seasonal products

Optional additional activities

•Collective „harvest day” at the farm: friendly and educative activity

•Introducing „forgotten” species of vegetables in the basket

•„Recipe sharing” to cook the products

Advantages for consumers

•Tasty and healthy food

•Regular delivery in his city

•Transparency about origin and nature

of the products

•Budget unaffected by price fluctuations

Advantages for the farmer

•Regular income for further activity

•Long term view of production

•Fair price for his products

•Decrease losses

•Decrease stockpiling

Advantages for the society

•Promote traditional and organic food

•Promote local food: less transportation

good for environment

•Stimulate national economy

•Promote healthy way of life

•Sustain local farmers

Necessary conditions

RELIABILITY: trust

Farmers have to produce enough of quality products.

Consumers have to pay in advance.

They both have to come at the agreed place and time.

How we want to implement it?

•Regular deliveries in Tbilisi (weekly or every two weeks)

•Consumers from the city will come with their own basket to take the products

(for ecological reasons)

Local farmers (1,2 or 3)

JOIN US !!