Bread and Wine

During our first week in Crete I have been very struck by the experiences we have had with the local economy. Through our visits to the winery, the bakery, the open air market, and the packaging plant we have gotten a feel for different sectors of the local economy as well as different stages of production. The bakery was particularly striking because we were able to be a part of the production process and start to understand the labor that goes into making the goods. We were also able to ask questions about his business model and thoughts on the local economy. I was interested in how he spoke to the tastes of the locals and how he doesn't worry about competing with the supermarket because here more people prefer to buy from small producers than large supermarkets. This is something I see reflected in Crete as a personal society that upholds the values of knowing your local baker and having a real understanding of where food and other goods are coming from. The packaging plant expressed similar values about their quality even though they distribute their products on a broader scale. I would be interesting in comparing the sentiments of the workers at the packaging plant with more small scale producers of oranges and avocados who do not have their goods sold at the supermarket. I'm happy we had these experiences so early in the trip because now I feel like I will be more aware of the local economy's structure throughout my time here.