Zuidermarkt or ZuiderMRKT in short is a local market in Amsterdam Zuid. The Zuidermarkt is a small, cozy, weekly neighborhood market with beautiful, fresh crops and as many organic products as possible. The Zuidermarkt is organised by the neighbourhood for the neighbourhood. Unique by its cooperative character. The cooperative consists of members – enthusiastic local residents who market the market and help on the market and in the vegetable stall. The members together determine the range of all stalls. They buy as much fruit and vegetables as possible at Dutch farmers to sell them on the Zuidermarkt for fair prices.
The goals of the market
Selling beautiful products for fair prices in the area. That is an important goal of the market. It is a response to disappearing small shops and neighborhood facilitties. In addition, the market is a place where local residents meet. For a chat at the stall or for a cup of coffee in the middle of the square. And ‘Learning’ is an important theme. Adult local residents learn about tasty dishes and forgotten vegetables, children learn about where products come from and how they grow.
Cooperative structure
The structure of the Zuidermarkt is unique: it is a cooperative. The cooperative consists of members (more than 500), local residents who each contribute. They keep the market running. A neighborhood resident takes place every week as a market master. He coordinates the entire market, with the help of his team. A team of local residents that sells the most special vegetables and the most juicy fruit in the so-called cooperatial window. Every team is a part of it once every few months. Behind the scenes are also active: with scheduling the teams, communication work, organizing the annual excursion to farmers, member administration, conducting conversations with market entrepreneurs, finances and all kinds of administrative work. Together, all members determine the market policy, of course within the cadres of the city district authorization. One of those rules is that the cooperative nature and voluntary deployment of local residents remain up to the market: without members no market.
Financially independent
The district has embraced the cooperative initiative. This is apparent from trust and impact of the civil service and the permanent permit obtained from the daily management. However, the district had not granted financial support at that time. That meant that the cooperative at the start in 2011 itself had to pre-finance investments. Investments in electricity, in scales, in ATMs, you name it. These costs are paid back after several years. From that moment, the cooperative had its profit – without the approval of others – investing in projects in the area. Projects that contribute to social cohesion and the development of the area, make the area greener and to have knowledge about food and nutrition. The zuiderMRKTfonds is created to make careful consideration herein. The committee proposes projects at the annual meeting for members.
Where do you find the Zuidermarkt?
You can find the zuiderMRKT at the intersection Johannes Verhulst Street and Jacob Obrechtstraat in South district. In your device, you can also enter the address John Verhulststraat 33 House 1071MR Amsterdam or use this link to google maps.
If you visit the website on a desktop you can find a translation to English button in the menu for every page.