Economic Institute - Loyola University New Orleans

Controlling the Chaos:
Suggested Guidelines for Implementation & Management of a Retail
Farmers' Market
100 pages
Format: 3 ring binder for easy use
Price: $30 plus $2 shipping and handling

Farmers' Markets thrive on the sensory overload that shoppers enjoy upon
entering the Market -- the sites, smells, and sounds of happy farmers
and shoppers sharing in the bounty of the harvest. For many a shopper,
they cannot exactly explain what it is that they like about the market,
but we sum it up as chaos. The very fact that you cannot predict with
100% accuracy what will be on display at each market creates a sense of
wonder and excitement for shoppers deadened by the humdrum
predictability of everything always in season at the grocery store.

So, are markets chaotic or do they just appear that way? In our
experience, the management of any public market is one of controlling
the chaos. One must remain flexible and with a sense of humor; however,
we suspect that the markets that survive the long haul are also the ones
that build into their management and governance transparent, fair and
predictable systems. That's what we have attempted to provide in our
second book, Controlling the Chaos. Written in an easy to read manner,
it provides the novice market manager with a model (and in some cases
several) for creating an organization.

We know from our own experiences that markets spring onto the scene
because a few individuals and/or organizations coalesce around the
desire to create a community enterprise. Often times, little thought
has gone into rules and regulations, job descriptions, an organizational
mission, or general operating procedures for the market to cut a check.
These are some of the issues addressed in this manual. Also, a special
feature is the some 50 addenda designed for easy replication (or in some
cases straight up photocopying).

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5/13/98