What is REKO? And how do I start one in my area?
Supporting Small Scale Farmers Directly
When starting out, Bramleigh Farm faced the issue that every small scale producer faces - consistency. Do you produce a lot first and then look for a market? Or do you look for a market but have very little to actually sell, risking customers losing interest? How do you know customers want what you have produced?
We spent many hours at farmer’s markets where either we sat with empty cooler boxes after selling out early in the day, or sitting with rapidly defrosting meat after bringing too much stock.
We then discovered REKO through Ridgedale Permaculture’s Youtube channel in 2018. Initially we could not find anything on REKO in English so we spent many weeks translating websites to try to understand the model better. Now there is a lot of information out there, with REKO Rings especially gaining traction during COVID Lockdowns. We started a REKO in our small local village, the first REKO outside of Europe and the first in Africa. Unfortunately due to not having enough variety or customer support, this first REKO did not survive much past a year. In the meantime we had set up two bigger REKO Rings in bigger towns as our confidence grew. Having seen what led to failure, and what led to success, we were encouraged to write this blog post to help others wanting to understand REKO, or set up their own in their area.
What is REKO?
REKO is a Finnish trading movement (meaning "fair consumption”) created by Thomas Snellman, that is essentially a pre-order Facebook based system. The Farmers Market aspect of REKO takes place on Facebook where goods are advertised each week, while the collection provides a social opportunity for all involved. REKO Rings provide support for small scale farmers and cut out the middle man while, for customers, create a convenient way of ordering local, organically produced or ethically raised produce directly. Produce is delivered by the farmer in person to create accountability and relationship.
Everything is bought and paid for in advance which means producers only have to take along what they have orders for, and the collection is limited to 1 -2 hours. Customers can have the convenience of cost-effective online shopping with access to fresh, healthy, local produce while supporting ethical/organic/sustainable production values of small scale producers, and collection from multiple producers in one location. Buying directly means customers can build a relationship with the producers and really know where their food comes from.
Watch Thomas Snellman’s video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETHa7MPEl1A
Main Aims
The aim of a REKO Ring is to create a direct relationship between customers and small scale producers. The ultimate goal is to have a market of fresh, healthy, local produce while also supporting small scale producers to create a viable enterprise and sustain their ethical/organic production values.
The main aims of a REKO Ring are:
Local and ethical/organic production
Direct relationship between producer and consumer
Produced by the producer themselves with transparent production operations
HOW DOES IT WORK
Essentially it is a farmers market on Facebook. Each week producers post their available offerings and prices - whether it is just a few bunches of spinach and a couple dozen eggs, or a wider variety. Customers comment to place an order. Producers then collate their own orders, pack their goods and head to the meeting point. They only have to take what is pre-ordered which saves a lot of time and effort on the producers’ part, and ensures freshness and quality for the consumer. Everyone meets at a central pick up point to exchange goods. Customers move from producer to producer collecting their orders and making payment. An hour later, everyone is packed up and on the way home. The volunteer admin team then clears the Facebook feed and the next week, the process starts again.
The direct sales model that Bramleigh Farm uses is called REKO.
WHY REKO?
A sustainable REKO Ring is one where customers can order most of their groceries, minimising the need to go to a supermarket. They can get everything they need between multiple producers.
Benefits for customers
Customers can buy directly from the farmer, learn the story behind their food, support the production methods of the farmer and build a relationship.
Make informed choices about the welfare of animals, the feed used, and how farms operate.
Buying directly from the farmer means customers are not paying additional commissions and higher prices.
Convenient online shopping and quick collection from many producers in one place
Producers deliver in person to build relationships with their customers, and accountability.
Customers have a wide variety of products available to them from various producers, access to fresh, local food.
benefits for producers
The pre-order system means only taking what was ordered - not lugging mountains of produce that will wilt, defrost or be wasted while waiting for a sale.
Quick pick-up that can be done in an hour, at most. This gives farmers more time to actually farm, not stand around at markets.
Direct sales - the full retail value goes to the producer who is then better able to continue producing food with a local, ethical focus.
Networking with other producers and tailored production to customers
REKO often becomes a social event with customers and producers becoming friends, customers meet at REKO to chat, production tips shared between producers - a network of like-minded people.
BUT FACEBOOK
We are often asked -
"Why Facebook?" Or "What if I am not on Facebook?"
Facebook is an ideal platform for this type of sales model because a REKO Ring is run by volunteers. One of the core principles of REKO is that it is free for anyone to participate. Therefore there is no savings fund for advertising so a free advertising platform is necessary. Facebook provides the capabilities of organic marketing while also the privacy of closed groups.
Secondly, only interested parties can join the group.
The group is also able to be controlled - producers and consumers can be added, and also removed if they do not adhere to the guidelines.
Facebook provides an easy to access, easy to use platform for multiple consumers to see the adverts of multiple producers and for consumers to quickly and easily respond.
So while it may not be for everyone, it certainly ticks the boxes for the REKO model to work. Currently there are apps in the development stage to provide something similar but there is nothing available yet that provides in the way Facebook does.
Facebook provides free advertising by sharing the group and/or creating events.
Important Guidelines
Strictly no resale
No resale may take place - each producer may only sell what they themselves have produced or manufactured from their own raw materials (eg meat and vegetables, by-products such as skin, wool, wax etc or processed products such as juice, jam, pestos etc.). Handing your product over directly to the customer means automatic accountability! A lot of trust develops between producer and consumer, this breeds loyalty. The rule of no resale/middlemen means that customers pay for what they get - there are no hidden fees or commissions. They know their full payment goes to the farmer. And this is what keeps the small scale farmer in business and able to continue producing quality produce. Customers pay each producer directly so there is no central person trying to coordinate all the orders and payments.
Volunteer based
No money can change hands in exchange for participation. Being a volunteer based market, REKO Rings can appeal for support for advertising etc. by being a common-good organisation. Alternatively, maybe the producers may all agree to pay for a signboard, newspaper advert etc.? Being an international movement, once one REKO starts accepting money for organising a market, the concept will implode. This is where the value of Facebook lies - advertising is free, wide audience and easy to access with no cost.
Local
There is no clear distinction on what defines local and each REKO can customise according to their context once the basic principles are met. There is no exact definition on local but for our REKO Rings, we have chosen a radius of 100km for producers to join. We were sure to make it clear that producers have to deliver in person to establish a relationship with the consumer. If you only had one order, would you still be happy to drive that distance? That helps define local. This encourages new REKO Rings to pop up and means produce is fresh with a low carbon footprint. Most REKO Rings do not allow on site sales - items must be pre-ordered. Depending on the laws where you are, you can have a few items for sale but the majority should be pre-ordered for the system to work most efficiently.
TRANSPARENT
The farmer must deliver in person & all ingredients & production methods must be clearly explained in every advert. Customers can ask any questions to the farmer and then choose to support the production methods they believe in.
HOW TO START A REKO
A REKO can be started by a producer/group of producers or by customers.
A single farmer can start a REKO, supplying a variety of goods to the community but generally a more sustainable model is to have a critical mass of producers with enough enticing variety that customers can get the bulk of their shopping done at REKO.
Gather producers.
Advertise locally on Facebook, Whatsapp groups, word of mouth. Each producer that you find should be able to connect a few more to the REKO Ring. You can customise your REKO to your own context. Generally most REKO Rings try to ensure a limit on distance travelled by producers to encourage setting up of REKO Rings in many towns, and to cut down on food miles. Producers should fill in a producer application form outlining their products and production processes. This helps ensure producers are committed and there is a record of all applicants. Only those who have been approved may post on Facebook.
Set up a closed Facebook group for your area.
This means you can control who has access to the group (serious buyers and sellers) and prevents spam advertising. Start to advertise this group widely. You could also have another closed Facebook (or WhatsApp) group for producers only to discuss any organisational issues, growing tips etc.
Establish a volunteer committee.
This group will be responsible for moderating the Facebook page - ensuring only approved producers post, no conversational posts, clearing the feed at the end of the week as well as setting up an application form and interviewing potential producers to maintain the integrity of the group. Having an event linked to the page helps with advertising, with details of delivery times and points back to the main REKO page for consumers to see the producer adverts. All organisation of a REKO Ring is volunteer based. Those who initiate and manage a REKO Ring do not receive any compensation. The better organised a market is, the better the revenue will be so it makes sense to ensure you have a strong administrative team.
Gather customers
It is essential to have a critical mass of producers to provide an enticing variety of products, as well as a suitable ratio of producers to customers. Too many producers could mean diluted sales for everyone resulting in producers dropping out. Too many customers could mean not enough produce to go round and frustration when orders can’t be fulfilled. Not enough producers means the offering is not appealing enough. Not enough customers means not enough sales and producers will leave if it is not worthwhile.
Advertise. Advertise. Advertise.
Determine a central pick up point and time that suits most producers and customers.
This may need to change a few times and you won’t please everyone, but aim for the majority. There are no sales if it is not convenient to customers, and there are no products if it is not convenient to producers! Both are equally valuable!
Admin tasks
The main organisational roles are setting up the Facebook group and producer application form. From there, it is simply maintaining the group. This involves approving producer applications, moderating the posts on Facebook - only allowing sales related posts, only approved producers can post, and deleting the feed at the end of the week so that a new advertising post can be posted by each producer with their available products for the coming week.
Having an event linked to the page helps with advertising, with details of delivery times and points back to the main REKO page for consumers to see the producer adverts.
You could also have another closed Facebook (or WhatsApp) group for producers only to discuss any organisational issues, growing tips etc.
Having a small group of administrators helps with processing all the producer applications as this can work as an advisory committee too.
Advertising
Each week, producers will post what products they have for sale and how each was produced. It is important that producers are clear about the ingredients and processing/manufacturing process of each item in an effort to create a transparent market. Being a co-created market, the customers can then decide which products/processes they value. In countries where there are strict regulations about the sale of food items, producers must be responsible for the packaging, labelling and ingredients list for each item, to be in line with local regulations.
Producers will only post adverts for REKO Rings that they are able to attend, and the quantities available for each meet up. The value of this is that should a producer not have a consistent supply, they can simply post the products and quantities they do have each week. For the success of a REKO Ring, there needs to be a certain amount of consistency, or enough consistent producers advertising to keep the products varied and interesting.
Ordering
Customers order by commenting directly on each producer’s post. Once you have commented to place an order, you are obligated to pay for the products. Producers may request prepayment or take payment on delivery.
Collection
All transactions are between producer and consumer directly. Should the customer not be able to collect at the REKO Ring, collection must be arranged directly with the producer. Delivery takes place on a set day, for a set length of time. All producers meet customers at the collection point.
We have found REKO to be a game changer for our business. We have time to actually spend farming, not standing around at farmers markets.
Although the administration of a REKO can be a headache at times, it is still a worthwhile investment of time.