Almost every article written about Heifer Ecuador mentions
visiting the Plaza Pachano Saturday farmers’ market in Ambato where 150 PACAT
merchants sell fruits, vegetables, meats, drinks and cooked food — all
organic. Go early because the regular customers buy them out by 10 am!
PACAT stands for Productores Agroecológicos de Comercio
Asociativo de Tungurahua or Commercial Association of Agroecoloical Producers of
Tungurahua. To us Heifer tourists, PACAT came to mean the best in skillful
strategy, savvy can-do, and sturdy cooperation.
About ten years ago, a small group of growers wanted to sell
in this city market, but couldn't make their way through the red tape. Taking
matters into their own hands, they began just showing up on Saturdays, after
also showing up the day before to wash the concrete and clean up after a Friday
animal market. Little by little over the years the PACAT section of the market
has grown to take up more than half, and PACAT has achieved official
legitimacy, and even winning an recent award from the province.
On our visit, we saw throngs of enthusiastic shoppers
willingly paying a higher price for food that they trust to be high quality,
and as several shoppers characterized it, “clean.” PACAT members have actively educated
the customer base by offering farm tours. Señor Moreta, current president of
PACAT, explained that “now if they spot a little worm among the vegetables,
they aren’t fooled and they don’t worry, because they know that the food is
healthy and organic.” We loved seeing the distinctive turquoise aprons worn by
the PACAT folks — a great way to promote brand awareness — one of the marketing
strategies carried out by the paid publicity staffers.
Heifer Ecuador got involved because PACAT met its
criterion of being “an organization in harmony with Heifer’s mission, with a
clearly defined purpose, and with goals that they couldn’t quite meet on their
own.” Heifer Ecuador's seed money formed a capital fund from which PACAT issue micro-loans
to members — 250 loans in the past 2+ years. Heifer also provided
technical assistance in forming a small corps of techs who act as specialists,
helping growers achieve and then maintain organic certification from the
province.