By Molly Swan

What makes a human community? Among other things it is a sense of place. What makes a caring community? Sharing the diverse bounty of that place.
The newly re-convened Santa Clara Mercado reflects the richness of cultures which currently abide in our region. At the weekly Wednesday markets from 4-6 in the brightly painted booths at the corner of Ft. Bayard and Oak Streets there is a sense of joy in sharing the gifts of this place we call home.
Mary weighs fresh apricots which bring a smile

One can find freshly picked fruits, vegetables, and herbs from local gardens, foraged edibles in season such as mesquite flour, eggs, garden seedlings to plant, beeswax from local bees, hand crafted soaps, and local art as well as delicious prepared ethnic food such as Fry-Bread and Indi-an Tacos and New Mexican Tamales and Fried Pies.

Paulo cooks Indian Frybread tacos with love and panache

At the Mercado friends hug neighbors and make new acquaintances in this celebration of this place in time. I wonder why is this such a happy coming together like a special party each week? Is it because it is "The Real Thing" - a gathering together and showing all together the abundance of what is quietly happening in our individual homes and businesses.

Sandra makes tamales and Alex has Artistic Flair

The Mercado is being fostered by local individuals who have become aware of the looming world problem of food scarcity. This is perceived as a complex problem do to multiple factors in-cluding but not limited to climate change and supply chain problems. Have you noticed the cost of organic cabbages lately in Walmart?!! Through fostering local food awareness the Mercado is conceived as a stimulus to local people to grow more food than what they and their immediate neighbors can consume. The Mercado is seeding the idea of growing produce to share.

The project has been generously supported by the Santa Clara Action Committee which ar-ranged for an initial gathering of residents interested in creating backyard food gardens. This meeting was held in early May at the Armory across Hwy 180 from Santa Clara town. Out of that gathering a group met to create an organic garden bed and to plant it with seedlings at the home of a Santa Clara resident.
Members of this seed group have been the first attendees of this year's mercado. Each week new vendors show up and new customers stroll through after work as the day cools. The market so far has not ended at six. People stay on to enjoy the atmosphere of belonging and sharing. How can this be in the dog days of summer? It seems to be because it is so pleasant to be part of something spontaneously creating itself.
There is a sense of something new in the air and a deep desire for this new togetherness to grow. This project has been developing some unseen roots within the community. It is being ferti-lized and watered by the hopes of a few who vision the world they want to see and are taking steps in their immediate environment to grow it. The Mercado is a group effort. It is a living exam-ple of the fact that we are all connected, and that together we can increase the well-being of all.

Some people have asked for food stamps to be arranged as an exchange medium at the Merca-do. They site the low-income of many of the local residents. However since the market is con-ceived as a stimulus for local self-sustainability, dependence on a big government program like SNAP is not within the vision of the project. How can we become self sufficient if we depend on government handouts?

Barter however is encouraged. Recently Lisa exchanged quilting fabrics for Esther's home-made soap and I exchanged natural remedies for eggs and was gifted an Indian Taco.

The Mercado is not focused on creating income for local farmers and food vendors, although this naturally happens.The intention of the organizers is to foster sharing within community. There is a sense of grass-roots abundance and creativity.
All are welcome to come be a part of this celebration of community. Bring your quality home-grown and home-made products to sell or give away. Thanks to the gracious generosity of Santa Clara town, there is no cost to be a vendor. Or come and enjoy the local ethnic food, participate in conversations about gardening techniques, and network with like-minded folks for your own fa-vorite projects. You don't need to be a resident of Santa Clara to participate. The Mercado will be ongoing into the fall.