The essence of this partnership is not the trade itself, but the friendly relationship between people. Therefore, both producers and consumers should support each other on the basis of mutual understanding: This relationship should be built through reflection on past experiences.
Producers should, in consultation with consumers, aim to produce the maximum quantity and variety of goods within the capacity of their operations.
Consumers should accept all produce grown in accordance with the prior agreement between both groups, and their diet should be based on these products as much as possible.
When setting the price for produce, producers should consider the savings in labor and costs from forgoing sorting and packaging, as well as the acceptance of all produce; and consumers should consider the benefit of receiving fresh, safe, and tasty food.
The continuous development of this partnership requires deepening friendly relationships between producers and consumers. This is only achieved through maximizing contact between the partners.
According to this principle, the infrastructure for the flow of goods, money, and information within the community should be established and operated without relying on external service providers or central platforms. Transport, financing, and digital systems—including servers, networks, and data spaces—should be designed and managed under communal responsibility.
Both groups should avoid over-reliance on a limited number of leaders in their activities and strive to practice democratic management with responsibility for all. The special circumstances of members' families should be considered based on the principle of mutual aid.
Both groups, producers and consumers alike, should place great importance on learning within their groups and strive not to limit their activities solely to the distribution of safe food.
Full implementation of the points mentioned above will be difficult if the number of members or the area of a group becomes too large. Therefore, both should be kept at an appropriate size. The growth of this movement in terms of membership should be promoted by increasing the number of groups and fostering collaboration among them.
In most cases, neither producers nor consumers will be able to work under such favorable conditions as described above from the outset. Therefore, it is necessary for both to seek promising partners, even if their current situation is unsatisfactory, and to continue efforts toward further development through mutual cooperation.
Japanese Organic Agriculture Association, November 1978.
Translated by Felix Schröder from the original version at http://www.joaa.net (external)
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Author: Felix Schröder, with assistance from AI (ChatGPT)
Creation: written by Felix Schröder › formatted in Markdown by ChatGPT › published by Felix Schröder › layout adjusted by Claude
Created: 2025-03-31 · Last updated: 2026-10-10 · Questions or feedback? support@teikei.us