In many cases, the products we buy from the supermarket have traveled several countries since they have been produced until they reach your table, so actions such as those of ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! can be very interesting to change our consumption model and thus achieve a fairer and more sustainable world.
Therefore, in this article we will learn more about the work of this organization thanks to Anna García, the press officer.
When was ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! born?
LCQDS: In July 2014 the first two ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! opened their product distributions. The seeds sprouted in Madrid and Barcelona, in two emblematic coworking spaces. Neighbors, friends and curious people attended the CataColmenas organized for the occasion to learn more about the project and meet both Colmena’s managers and local producers. Thus was inaugurated ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! a new local consumption initiative that connects consumers and local producers, with the creation of communities called Colmena. Over the following years, more social entrepreneurs created new communities in other towns. Today there are 55 Colmenas open (and many more under construction) in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Castilla y León, and the network continues to grow every day.
Why do you think your business model stands out?
LCQDS: ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! combines the culture of entrepreneurship and digital innovation to create a social and collaborative model. The project supports local agriculture, while empowering a change of consumption model with real impact. This dual objective is achieved thanks to an innovative web platform that offers consumers greater access to local and quality food, without intermediaries and at affordable prices. For producers, it is a direct sales service that allows them to manage their activity autonomously and fairly, setting their own prices and marketing conditions. Finally, this initiative offers anyone the management and communication tools needed to create their own consumer community in their neighborhood. This person, called the Colmena Manager, obtains a complementary source of income in exchange for the tasks of dynamizing the community.
What is your mission?
LCQDS: Every day, the Colmena communities grow and act locally to overcome agribusiness. Tomorrow, together with other initiatives that have the same objective, they will be able to have more weight in the balance of agricultural policy. Consumers, producers and processors will contribute to the emergence of a more humane, social and fairer generation and distribution.
Our mission is: to support local producers and processors, to create the tools to offer citizens the means to produce, distribute and consume in a fairer and more sustainable way, to recreate social links around food, to give access to local and quality food to the greatest number of consumers, to encourage the fair remuneration of producers and processors, and to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge around the world of agriculture and food.
When an entrepreneur wants to register, what are the steps to follow?
LCQDS: An individual entrepreneur registers on the website to open a beehive in a unique place in the neighborhood: a school, a coworking space, a garden, etc. In this way, he/she becomes responsible for his/her Colmena and from the beginning he/she is assisted by the team of coordinators of ¡La Colmena Que Dice Sí! The first steps are to contact producers, located within a maximum radius of 250 kilometers, and to communicate to find consumers in the neighborhood interested in buying local food. Once a few producers have signed up and a sufficient number of consumers have registered…. the adventure begins!
From then on, every week the Responsable organizes an online sale where consumers can buy quality foods offered by local producers and processors: fruits and vegetables, eggs, bread, meat, dairy products, beverages …..
Consumers have 6 days to place their order on the website. It is very easy: they only have to choose the products they want. There is no minimum order requirement: each consumer has the flexibility to decide whether they want to buy that week or not.
Once the sales are finalized, there are two possibilities: 1/ If the producer reaches the minimum number of orders, everything is fine! 2/ If the producer does not reach the predetermined minimum number of orders, he will not deliver that week and the amounts will be refunded to the consumers. The day before the delivery of the order, each consumer receives the complete list of the products to be delivered and the purchase amount.
What income does a Colmena Manager receive?
LCQDS: Managing a Colmena involves between 8 and 10 hours of work per week. The supplementary income that the manager receives is 10% of the total sales of the producers.
Where are the meeting places where social ties are created?
LCQDS: A distribution is an ephemeral market that is organized every week in a unique place in the Colmena Manager’s neighborhood (an art center, a coworking space, a garden, a school, etc.). At this time the delivery of the orders (already paid by Internet) by the producers takes place and at the same time the real social bonds are created, in a relaxed atmosphere where ideas and experiences are exchanged. In addition, on many occasions, activities open to everyone, such as talks, tastings, etc., are carried out.
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