Welcome! The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Community of Practice is made up of higher education professionals with an interest in working together to increase knowledge and resources in this topic area of eXtension. Our site provides resources to help individuals and organizations cope with issues and find effective working methods.
In this blog we'll address specific situations and provide a window into our work. We intend to address topics like: the challenges we face, engaging underserved populations, and effective methods for respecting and encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion in all our communities and workplaces.
We encourage comments and your posts. We envision this as being a place to describe your work and discuss situations and issues we all face. Feel free to join the discussion and throw out questions for group discussion.
This first post discusses some work I have done with Amish produce growers in one Missouri town . Picture a Farmers' Market in a covered pavilion in a small city in Southwest Missouri. You see tables piled with colorful displays of vegetables and fruits in bushel baskets. honey and jams, fresh meats, eggs, and baked goods. In addition to pickup trucks, you see horses and buggies parked near the pavilion. Crowds of non-Amish customers cluster around each table.
A year ago, this picture became a reality for a small southwest Missouri city. Along with interested and engaged citizens, and with the support of city and county administrators, we formed a committee to start a Farmers' Market. Our first steps was to organize and educate local produce growers to become our vendors.
My work is with small businesses, to provide assistance with management, finance, and marketing education and counseling. My challenge was in providing this education to all our vendors in ways that were culturally acceptable and useful to them.
The Amish are a Christian religious denomination known for simple living, plain clothing, and typically, reluctance to adopt “modern” ways. While the Amish in our area do not use electricity or drive cars, they do tolerate the use by others.
One of the education programs I conducted was on effective marketing and display of products. It was a PowerPoint presentation which included some video. The use of this technology in the program was not a source of resistance. The Amish participants were eager to learn the information. The presentation addressed the use of brightly colored table coverings, baskets and containers to present the produce attractively for buyers. I explained the rationale and while the information was understood, subsequent Amish displays were plain, like their clothing, and the produce was displayed in attractive groupings.
In addition to general information on displaying items within easy reach, I added examples of display methods that would appeal to non-Amish buyers, who would make up the bulk of Farmers' Market customers. We discussed the customers desire to interact with vendors, to begin to get to know who grew the food they were about to buy. Since Amish try to maintain some separation from the non-Amish world, this concept was explained in terms of the increased sales and profits that could be expected from exchanging small talk with customers.
To publicize the Market, we wrote weekly “Vendor Spotlight” articles, introducing a vendor and providing information on the history, products, and interesting stories about the vendors and their operations. I typically included one or two photos of the vendors. Those featured in the articles noticed a significant increase in sales following the articles.
However, the Amish in our area do not allow themselves to be photographed. For their articles, I could photograph the products, displays, and buggies, but not the people. The interviews were more challenging since providing personal information seemed uncomfortable.
One other challenge came during some of our events like “Opening Day”, “Independence Day”, and “Fall Festival”. The events included children's activities and live music. In discussing the plans with our Amish vendors, they indicated a preference for no music, however if it would draw additional customers and revenue, they would agree.
We are managing this relationship and market successfully. At the end of the first year, we ended our season with a communal meal for all the vendors which made a cordial end to the season.
Do you have any comments on this post? Any suggestions? Please share a story or two involving diversity, equity or inclusion with us.
KEM
