The Good Earth MARKET

Spring is in full bloom here in the bayou area, which means those of you with a green thumb may be itching to get outside and into the garden. Luckily, there is an event happening right here in Houma that is a gardener’s dream. The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, along with Shell Pipeline Company LP, is hosting their second annual Good Earth Market on Saturday, April 7th, from 9AM to 2PM. The Good Earth Market is being held at 112 Library Drive, Houma, LA (near the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center), the future home of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center (SLWDC). Described in a press release by the SLWDC, “The Good Earth Market is a celebration for garden enthusiasts with booth spaces available to vendors from all aspects of the gardening and farming industry. This annual market also includes educational workshops. Vendors will be selling native plants, vegetables, ornamental plants, fresh eggs, jams, jellies, baked goods, homemade soaps and lots more.”

So far, there are about 20 vendors to shop from at this year’s Good Earth Market. Nonc B’s All Natural, Skinner Farms, and 12th St. Bakery will be there, as well as vendors selling cypress swings, handmade soaps, and plants and vegetables. “This event is geared a little bit more towards gardening, like things you would purchase for your garden,” explains Jonathan Foret of the SLWDC. Foret sees the market as an opportunity to bring consumers and producers together and cultivate relationships that are beneficial and educational.

“We have grown away from knowing the people who produce our food,” Foret says, “so the thing that I like about the Good Earth Market is it allows the people to see and meet the people making their jams and jellies that they are using, or making the soaps that they are going to use; so they can ask them what type of things go in it, or they can ask if any pesticides were used in creating the vegetables, or what type of fertilizer, or if there are antibiotics that the chickens eat that are laying the eggs they buy”. Foret added, “This isn’t a new concept, this [market] is just allowing people in Terrebonne Parish to enjoy this experience that people in many other communities have”.

The market will be buzzing with plenty to see, purchase, eat, learn, and most importantly there will be boiled crawfish for sale. Foret shared that so far there are two workshops planned: one that will talk about fermentation, and the other teaching how to use natural fibers to spin your own thread. He still hopes to add a few more workshops for the event: one about beekeeping, another explaining the best way to raise chickens on your own and one about using native plants in landscaping. Native plants to the bayou area are important to Foret and the market. When asked what sets the Good Earth Market apart from other farmer’s market Foret answered that one big difference, other than the educational workshops, is that the SLWDC “promotes the use of native plants for personal use” as well as works to educate the community on the plants many different uses.

Foret shared his excitement for this year’s market stating, “I like the idea of promoting local farmers and artisans.” He went on to say that last year’s market “helped local farmers and vendor to grow their customer base,” and was extremely successful. As for this year’s Good Earth Market, Foret wants to try to educate the community and encourage them to become more involved and self-reliant when it comes to making decisions on what they consume. “We are becoming so dependent on other people to keep us healthy or to provide things like medication, because we’re scared, or we’ve heard things like ‘oh that’s bad’,”said Foret, but he hopes the market will “educate people on how they can truly do things to be in-charge of their own health”. He then added, jokingly, “What I’m really excited about this year is the crawfish”.

The future of The Good Earth Market is as bright as a Louisiana spring day, as Foret shares that SLWDC is definitely committed to continuing the Good Earth Market annually. While Foret and the SLWDC would love to host the market more often, he said that, “We have so much else going on that we don’t have the capacity to facilitate that at this time.” The Good Earth Market is sure to be an event to put you into the spirit of spring, while offering opportunities to enrich the community and educate people about gardening, health, and food. Foret hopes that the take away from the market will be to “Shop local and know the people who produce your food. Talk to them about how they produce it and what goes into it”. To learn more about the Good Earth Market, the Wetlands Discovery Center, or any of their other great events visit http://slwdc.org/ or email Jonathan Foret at jforet@slwdc.org.

The Good Earth MARKET