Annual Report 2013—2014

WELCOME

TO OUR

ALTERNATIVE

TRADE MODEL

2

Imag ine trade prov id ing knowledge on what l ies beh ind packag ing or labe l .

Who, where and why makes the products that reach you. Who are the peo-

p le invo lved what are the cond i t ions and procedures beh ind a products

who le l i fe .

Imag ine trade w ith a l l ava i lab le products be ing the result of co l lect i ve ef-

fort beg inn ing from seeds and raw mater ia l , product ion, process ing , pack-

ag ing , log i st i cs , d i s tr ibut ion, consumpt ion and goes a l l the way to waste

management .

Imag ine trade a l low ing the peop le invo lved to operate free ly and inde-

pendent ly wh i le a l l of them share the same ph i losophy and a lways take

steps towards improvement .

Imag ine trade that operates w ith a im the ach ievement of goa ls in 10 f ie lds

that : ensure product qua l i ty throughout i ts l i fecyc le , pr ice i f fa irer for

a l l , people are treated equ itab ly , transparency and traceab i l i ty are pro-

v ided, respons ib i l i ty p lays a major part , labor r ights are respected and

protected , env ironmenta l susta inab i l i ty i s ach ieved, community deve lop-

ment and support together w ith so l i dar i ty are integra l parts , and at the

same t ime susta inab i l i ty and independence are ensured.

Th i s trade i s be ing formed and you cou ld be a part of i t . F ind out how!

3

A lternative Trade Network set out with 5

scientists and professionals who, since

May 2011 design and develop a fair trade

model, that is domestic, in solidarity and hu-

manistic. Since June 2013 we operate under

the legal form of social cooperative enter-

prise and the operation model of the working

collective. Our aim is to actively change the

way trade works.

A t a time that we face severe economic,

social and environmental changes, we

should all together demand and operate with

trade rules that work for people, societies

and the planet. Trade should first of all be

about exchange, through which products,

abilities and creativity are fairly distributed

between people and areas.

O ur philosophy aims at the achievement of

goals in 10 fields that: ensure product

quality throughout its lifecycle, price if fairer

for all, people are treated equitably, trans-

parency and traceability are provided, re-

sponsibility plays a major part, labor rights

are respected and protected, environmental

sustainability is achieved, community develop-

ment and support together with solidarity

are integral parts, and at the same time sus-

tainability and independence are ensured.

W e look for, find and get to know person-

ally people—groups or individuals—from

all around Greece who are operating or

want to operate within our ideological struc-

ture. We work together and find simple solu-

tions to overcome problems. We are open to

anyone interested in measuring up and bal-

ancing through our 10 fields of interest.

Right now we are working on an imprint pro-

cedure so that anyone can show in detail

how his operation corresponds to those ten

fields.

O n the path we have chosen we are not

alone. We discuss, participate and collab-

orate with any entity, organization, business

or individual as long as we share the vision of

a more humane, self-sustained and inde-

pendent society, where collaboration, soli-

darity and empathy are not just pretty

words but everyday life.

Best Regards,

The team of Alternative Trade Network

PREFACE

4

A more humane, self-sustained and independent society, where

collaboration, solidarity and empathy are not just pretty words but

every day life.

☑ Developing productive and commercial processes that concentrate on people and planet

☑ Developing a model that runs throughout the production process, is fair and tailor made for our country

☑ Reforming the whole value chain to include the economically disadvantaged.

☑ Addressing the chain as a closed cycle and working on forming a sponge network of small local systems.

☑ Hands-on changing the way trade works

☑ Developing a model that is:

FEW WORDS ABOUT US

Vision

Mission

At this point we are not going to define or amplify the terms mentioned and

listed bellow. It is our fundamental view that the ways and paths one can

take towards these are infinite and everyday more are created. So, instead of

narrowing the range with definition, we have chosen to include everything we come across.

We are not looking for excellence in one field. We aim to achieve balance. A balance that includes all ten, and then

take steps towards improvement but still keep the balance as final aim.

Fields of interest / Values

5

The main governing body responsible for decision making, planning strategy

and positions is the General Assembly. Every member has one vote. All deci-

sions are to be unanimous while there is the right to veto. When there is a

major decision to be made then the decision can be made by majority, provided that all objections are registered

and the matter is scheduled to be discussed again soon. The general assembly takes place at least once a year.

There is a steering committee that comprises 3 members and is elected by the general assembly. This committee is

elected only for legal reasons, and is burdened with the representation of the cooperative in transactions with the

state and banks. The steering committee is also obliged to monitor and audit the smooth operation of the coopera-

tive and to issue the annual reports that are approved by the general assembly. It convenes once a month.

The Operations Assembly comprises the people that work with the cooperative on a daily basis. Apart from the

members, candidate members can participate as well as supporters or contributors. The operations assembly deals

with every day matters, and at the same time is the cooperative’s think tank.

Fields of activity

Governance

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Greece is a fairly small country, but Greek land is rich and fertile. About

64.24% of total Greek land area is agricultural. The arable and permanent

cropland per million people is 353.01 thousand hectares. There are many

tractors in Greece (255,000).The number seems pretty small, but there is one tractor for every five citizens (23.13

per 1,000 people at 2003). However, there are very few agricultural workers (0.2 per hectare). It seems that Greek

farmers rely mostly on technology than manpower. Greek farmers seem to respect the environment, as they keep

gas emissions low (3,107.1 thousand metric tons of NO2 and 3,622.4 thousand metric tons of methane emissions).

Greek products are sold worldwide, but organic cropland is not the most

preferred farming option. Greek olive oil and olives are some of the finest

products found in the world and consumers agree. Greek wine is also a be-

loved product, Greece produces 400,409 tons of wine, receiving the 14th position out of 24 countries. Greek cere-

als such as rice, wheat, corn and barley is pretty easy to grow and farmers prefer this type of farming. Finally,

Greece also produces sugar beets, tomatoes, tobacco and potatoes in a lower scale. Greece is also a respectable

producer of beef and dairy products. The value of Greek products is almost $7 billion (6.97 billion), receiving the

28th place out of 119 countries.

According to Eurostat, although we are going through a very rough econom-

ical period, Food and Beverage industry has kept its fundamental role in the

greek economy and the greek processing industry in general, having all the

prerequisites to remain crucial for our country's development. The domestic food industrycovers almost 1/5

(21,2%) of the total processing. This puts it in the first place among other processing fields. At the same time, the

food industry is the largest employer of the domestic processing, since it occupies 1/4 (25,2%) of the total work-

force. The food industry is also fundamental in terms of, since it is also in the first place in terms of production val-

ue (19,8%) and gross added value (24.4%) kai second in terms of turnover.

Greece’s economy is fragmented. We have micro ownership, which leads to micro-agriculture which in turn leads to micro-production. According to El-stat data in the processing sector are 94% micro – businesses which share 8% of the total turnover of processing.

Another very important factor, is that Greece has really high urban concen-

tration. According to Eurostat in 2004, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ)

was the 7th most populous LUZ in the European Union (the 5th most popu-

lous capital city of the EU), with a population of 4,013,368. In the urban zone of Athens lives more than 38% of the

total population of Greece (9-10 million), in an area of 3.806 sq.meters and a varying density of 1.000 – 8.700 peo-

ple per sq. meter (in the municipality of Athens). So there is a really large and dense urban area hosting almost half

the population that needs to be supplied with food products that are grown at least 80 km away.

FACTS & STATS Agriculture

Products

Food Industry

Micro Businesses

Urban Concentration

7

☑ Legislation: a labyrinth of continuous changing laws, directives and standards, without any unification that

many times are contradictory.

☑ Taxation: taxation is really hard and horizontal, making no exceptions for new businesses and creates a really

big burden from day one.

☑ Funding opportunities: are scarce if not impossible. Banks have stopped giving business loans with low inter-

est. Funding programs on the other hand are not accessible to the specific target group as most times pro-

vide partial funding and require a minimum capital that cannot be covered. So unless there is private fund-

ing, it is next to impossible to begin.

☑ There is no easy way to start: It takes a lot of papers to a lot of agencies and a lot of money before the VAT

number can be obtained, and after that before a plant can be allowed to operate it takes even more red tape

and legislation for a permit to be acquired.

☑ Business Knowledge: Most people dealing with production businesses rarely have any business knowledge

or ways to obtain it. This may have really discouraging results, and since this knowledge includes planning

and financing it can cause problems that cannot be solved.

☑ Lack of tools: The biggest challenge small businesses face is that of achieving sustainability. Miscalculations

on pricing and costs and the inability to understand and make the necessary steps to make an income are the

main causes of the problem.

The figures show the main problems. Small businesses are not able to grow as they have no substantial assistance

on their first steps or later on, while obstacles are always placed in their path making things even worse. They do

not have access to means like training, consulting or funding, while they have to battle with bureaucracy, compli-

cated and contradictive legislation and high taxation every day.

If we look further into the situation, in every case we stumble across the lack of TIME, MONEY and KNOWLEDGE

which is a given fact to all small production units.

On the other hand consumers have no way of knowing who is producing the products where and under which con-

ditions. That information could help them better understand and make choices that would be better for them and

more in accordance with their set of values.

The fairness of pricing is always a big question for both sides as consumers – especially in the last five years – feel

they are spending too much on products that are not worth it and at the same time sellers (producers, shops, etc)

feel that they are being underpaid for their work.

THE PROBLEMS AT A GLANCE

Issues to address

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METHODOLOGY USED

☑ Being in practically the middle of the value chain, food processors have given us a chance to work with a system that

has significant and recognizable inputs and outputs

☑ Processing requires efficient production plants. This can be broken down into three fundamental requirements:

☑ And one thing about products: Processed food products have long shelf lives. This fact gave us time to study the proce-

dures in depth and length, without being under the pressure of having products that have to be sold on the spot and

then wait for the next crop.

Example: adding value in turning tomatoes into

sauce

The food processor takes his raw material and

after spending time and energy over it he turns

it into a jar of tomato sauce, a product with

added value when compared to tomatoes. To-

mato sauce is more expensive than tomatoes as

it is condensed (it takes about 4 kilos of toma-

toes to make 1 kilo of sauce), working time and

energy has been spent while peeling, mashing

and boiling. Secondary ingredients such as salt

or spices and herbs have been added and it has

been placed into jars. Hence, the price of the

tomato sauce compared to that of tomatoes has

increased to contain all the above costs and

efforts. But also its value of use has changed.

The tomato is a vegetable that will rot in a cou-

ple of days. What is more, it has already been

turned into sauce so it takes lets time to cook or

use. And finally it is a product that can last for

nine months in the food cabinet giving the con-

sumers the chance to store it and use it when-

ever.

Inputs Outputs

raw material,

energy, labour,

etc

product

However small a production plan, it

has to be in accordance with legisla-

tion and standards.

Also it requires equipment that may

range from simple household pans

and knives up to sophisticated pro-

duction equipment.

Finally a food processor is required

to follow business rules and routines.

After having formed a complete and detailed picture of the value added chain and it’s main components, it was time to take

the ‘snapshot approach’. Instead of starting at the beginning which would be agriculture or even seed purchasing, we choose

to start working with the food processors for one simple reason:

This is the point products gain most of their added value.

9

NETWORK IMPLEMENTATION

F i r s t I m p l e m e n t a t i o n P h a s e

Sep

‘13

Ja

n ‘1

4

May

‘14

N

ov

‘14

Inte

rven

tio

ns

Inte

rven

tio

ns

S e c o n d I m p l e m e n t a t i o n P h a s e

☑ Setting Up a first Network

☑ Focusing on Food

☑ Sliding Scale Price on Services

☑ Fine tuning the Network

☑ Sliding Scale Price on Products

☑ Interacting with Consumers

☑ Tool Creation

We have chosen to work on a completely open system and in a totally hands on way. This means that the participants involved

do not sign any contract that they will comply and stay on board from start to finish, but when any involved party feels that

they are not interested in continuing they just leave the project.

At the beginning of a phase we do not plan each and every little step we take. Since the work we do is more hands on and less

theoretical, needs and ideas may emerge in the process. When they do, we either intervene to include them or we schedule for

a later phase of the project.

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First Implementation Phase OBJECTIVE

Our main objective was to form a small, flexible yet diverse in products and legal forms pilot network of producers, which

would give us a chance to implement and test our plan, and at the same time provide us with real insight and knowledge of the

procedures, problems and specifics only processors and producers themselves know about their craft.

INPUT

In order to create this network we formed a ‘tank’ of existing producers – mainly small ones. After evaluation and discussion

with them, we concluded in 8 participants, 4 of whom were in the food sector. All of them came from different parts of

Greece, had diverse products, and were in a rough accord with our set of values.

1 Food Olives and derivatives Family Business

2 Food Jams, Sauces, Pickles Social Cooperative Enterprise

3 Food Herbs and superfoods Farmer

4 Food Wine and rice Organization

5 Art & Deco Sculptures Single-person business

6 Art & Deco Wooden Toys & Furniture 3 person startup

7 Art & Deco Traditional Clothing Family Business

8 Clothes Bags IKE

PROGRESS

Step 1: To know us better

First priority with each one of them was to create a relationship of mutual trust with them and obtain as much knowledge and

insight as we could on their processes. The things we focused most on were:

☑ The people behind the product: Was there a story to tell? What kind of people would get involved in such processes and for

what reasons? How close were they really standing as far as our values were concerned?

☑ The production entity: How is it organized? How is its day to day operation? What are everyday difficulties

☑ The products: What are they? Are there any details or specifics that need to be taken into account? Is there a story behind

the products? What about nutrition? What about the raw materials? What about growing, collecting or making?

Step 2: Listen closely

After having forged a relationship of trust with the producers, the next step was to identify the problems they faced and the

needs they couldn’t cover with their own means. This step was the most crucial in extracting specific outcome which later on

was used to create useful tools.

Plus two case studies: under development businesses (food, honey,

jams)

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OUTPUTS

The first implementation was not designed to provide a variety of results. Its main purpose was to verify the conclusions of the

preliminary analysis. Those conclusions were confirmed and strengthened.

☑ The reception of the idea of ATN by the producers was better than we had expected.

☑ We have clearly seen that it is very important for the producer to have someone to turn to whenever he is facing prob-

lems he cannot solve by himself. This provides the producer with a ‘safety net’ that allows him to become more creative

and avoid panic and mistakes.

☑ Most people dealing with production businesses rarely have any business knowledge or ways to obtain it. This may have

really discouraging results, and since this knowledge includes planning and financing it can cause problems that cannot

be solved.

☑ Producers need help with the main procedures of their production. Most producers have not had any kind of academic

training. Most of them are implementing traditional processes, turned into production by trial and error. But since there

is a long way from making something as an amateur and turning that same process into a production plant, problems

emerge. Problems they are unable to solve without professional help.

☑ In the process a very important internal weakness became obvious. Despite the fact that ATN comprises experienced

professionals, reality clearly showed us that the workload was so great and the spectrum of activities so broad that the

workforce was not enough to deal with everything. It was an overwhelming realizations as ATN was very often found

without availabler resources to cover everything that needed to be done.

OUTCOMES

It became obvious and imperative that a “roadmap” of legislation should be constructed. This is still in progress as there are a

lot more issues to address.

Promotion of the products is also a big issue for producers, as it is with technicians artists etc. Those who can manufacture or

create rarely know how to sell, and in most cases they do not have the time to do so. So, it was imperative to create some kind

of promotion and sales path. This is described in detail bellow.

Other services having to do with sales or promotion have been implemented where needed. Those may include designing a

logo or a website or even participating in an exhibition.

Discovery and codification of knowledge that can be passed around is of main interest in ATN. And it is very important for the

participants as well. So an effort to create a database of useful information is in progress.

Other support services, most of them on demand have been provided to cover specific needs and solve specific problems.

These can be from small to very small things that may include providing interpretation services, or procuring jars or labels, or

even going through the legislation to set the prerequisites and standards.

All the services implemented on this phase were designed to address specific situations at specific times. They were in no way

designed to be reproducible or reusable.

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Interventions on the first phase FOCUSING ON FOOD

Based on the realization that ATN didn’t have enough work power to cover the whole range and diversity of its activities, we

made the decision to focus on food and leave the rest of the products a step behind.

1 Existing Olives and derivatives Family Business

2 Existing Jams, Sauces, Pickles Social Cooperative Enterprise

3 Existing Herbs and superfoods Farmer

4 Existing Wine and rice Organization

5 New Jams & Sauces Family business

Plus one none - food case study: wooden toys & furniture

COST SHARING

When dealing with small or very small businesses one of the first things one comes to realize is that everything is more expen-

sive for them than it is for big ones. Either because some costs are disproportionate to their incomes, or because they cannot

use economy of scale because of their small size. So an easy way to save costs is by sharing them with others. The easiest and

most obvious way to implement this and have concrete results was organizing collective participation to big exhibitions.

One new thing that became obvious was that people can be trained in collaboration provided that they have some help, most-

ly by setting the terms that will help them overcome their fears and insecurities.

Cost sharing really solves matters that would otherwise remain unresolved including the lack of means

Cost sharing was evaluated as an effective approach and it could be implemented in other cases such as collective provisions.

Unfortunately all collaborations that were established during this event were forgotten as soon as ATN was pulled out to allow

them to evolve by themselves. So it turns out that collaborative thinking and will, cannot be built on demand, but they are pro-

cesses that take time and effort. So in order to make progress on that direction dedicated long term projects should be imple-

mented.

INTERACTING WITH CONSUMERS

The results of preliminary research on consumers that had pointed out that people would prefer fair or alternative products if

available to them where they chose to shop was confirmed.

Another conclusion that had to do with consumers was the fact that they were insecure when it came down to choosing their

food and that they really cared for receiving more information on who, how and why made it. It also became clear that there

was a lot more useful information to be exchanged between consumers and ATN

Where shops and businesses were concerned, we reached the following: they are the ones who regularly come in contact with

consumers and build relations of trust with them. They need and demand professional and trusting relationships with their

suppliers. Many consider the ATN approach added value for the products.

It became clear that we needed permanent and diverse ‘interaction points’ with the consumers. That would be places, events,

shops and markets where we could exchange information with consumers. It became clear that those places would preferably

be where people did their shopping and not set up for informational purposes only. We came to conclude that it was much

easier to draw real results when the people were about to shop for something they would eat.

During the exhibition we were approached by many people who were thinking of starting their own production. One of them

came with a request for help to start up and became the new participant of our network. This gave us a chance to work with

someone from their very first step of becoming a food processor.

13

ATN PRICING POLICY

We have implemented a sliding scale fee for the services we provide to participants. The whole idea behind that is that fairness

cannot be horizontal but individualized. So instead of a fixed price we give the participants a range of prices to pick from. The

price we recommend is in the middle of the range and it includes prices above and below the suggested price. The participant

after an introduction to this pricing method decides which price he wishes to pay for and we accept it without requiring justifi-

cation.

So, everyone has the opportunity to access the service they need at a price they can

afford and consider to be reasonable. And based on the given fact that when some-

one has benefitted from a process always wants to give something back to keep it

going, it is expected that people who have already used the lower price will choose a

higher one later on.

The sliding scale fee started as an pilot at the beginning of the 2014. The proportion of low prices picked during service delivery

compared to that of suggested prices was really low and well justified.

Example of an exhibition: sharing costs, collaborating & interacting with consumers

A big exhibition market was taking place in Athens. None of our network participants could afford the cost individually. We

went ahead and entered the exhibition with one booth to be shared by 4 participants.

The results were very useful. The result obvious to them was that they had paid for 1/5 of the original price, which made it

affordable and had benefited by the exhibition like they would have if they had paid the whole amount. But that was expected.

The important realization ATN made was of a different kind. At the beginning of the exhibition it was more than obvious that

there was no collaboration spirit between the participants, given the fact that they had never worked together before. So at

first there was a situation where they all tried to serve their own interests and obvious discomfort from the fact that they had

to fit all of them in the same booth. This was not something that was not expected as our society is more individualistic than it

should.

During the five-day event though things changed for the better. By the third day they were a real team. They helped each oth-

er, took care of each other’s posts and products and by the fifth day they had made plans to continue collaborating after the

end of the event.

This event marked also the first time ATN came in contact with consumers while they did their shopping. It gave us a first hand

view of what consumers are interested in and what they ask for.

Also ATN came in contact with business owners interested in the participants and their products. It became clear what they

need and most of all that there are plenty of people that understand and want to provide differentiated products to their end

consumers

NETWORK PARTICIPATS

During this phase we came to a dead end with one of the original members when it became obvious that we had a conflict of

principle. Although they had started as an excellent candidate for our first implementation even where values were in ques-

tion, somewhere down the road they took a more ‘expensive approach’. There it became obvious that our objectives didn’t

match and we parted with sincere good luck wishes.

This incident led us to improve the definition of the network and what being part of it brings along. We chose not to bind each

other with contracts and long term agreements but turn it into an open and flexible system.

So the network became a living entity that changes, adapts and matures in the process, and someone is in the network for as

long as our aims and visions lead us to a common direction.

14

Second Implementation Details OBJECTIVES

This phase came with a broadening of our target groups and the objectives. Now consumers and shops were in the equation as

well as agricultural producers. Also it was time to include more participants and products in the network in order to have a real

working number of participants. Moreover:

☑ The same principles and plan could be implemented on the whole value chain, from the field to the table.

☑ Codify and structure knowledge and information so that it could be distributed among all interested parties.

☑ More work was to be done regarding values. We had to have some solid way of knowing were participants and other

interested parties stood on the matter of values.

☑ The real problems and the real causes had to be identified and addressed, and reproducible and not one of tools had to

be developed.

☑ Broad implementation of the now complete pricing tool with all its aspects should be put in motion.

INPUT

Our first step was to include more participants in the network. This time the approach was a bit differentiated. We kept the

same standards as in the first phase, but one. And that was product diversity. This time we decided to include a range of simi-

lar products from different producers, but from the same area. This decision was made so that we could study the characteris-

tics completion brought in, and that is because it was the only part missing from being sure that the pilot could be scalable.

PROGRESS

Step 1: Read between the lines

After having listened carefully and identified all the problems the producers faced, this next step dealt with identifying prob-

lems that weren’t recognized as such by the producers themselves. They were either the hidden reasons behind what produc-

ers recognized as problems or things that were identified because of feedback received from market and consumers. A lot of

the problems producers won’t recognize often hide behind common topics or have really unified causes. Checkpoints that will

bring those problems to light have been identified and worked on.

Plus one none - food case study: wooden toys & furniture

1 Existing Olives and derivatives Family Business

2 Existing Jams, Sauces, Pickles Social Cooperative Enterprise

3 Existing Herbs and superfoods Farmer

4 New Traditional Food from Flour Agro Cooperative Enterprise

5 New Pasta Family Business

6 New Pasta Farmer & Family Business

7 New Legumes Farmer

8 New Fair Trade Coffee Urban Cooperative Enterprise

9 New Rusks Social Cooperative Enterprise

10 New Pickles Farmer

11 New Herbs Social Cooperative Enterprise

15

Step 2: Standard Interaction Points with Consumers

As we decided during the first implementation phase, direct interaction points with consumers were needed. This need was

covered in two different ways:

☑ For a permanent interaction point we have a permanent monthly nomadic market, with large number of permanent

clients. This gives us the opportunity to see the same people over and over, get feedback and go the discussion steps

further beyond first introductions.

☑ As the nomadic market has specific clientele with progressive attributes, we decided that our feedback should be also

coming from a more mainstream source. For that we picked a large biannual food exhibition that claims to follow all the

recent trends in the department.

Step 3: Standardizing the procedure for new entries

During the first implementation, there was no specific procedure in finding a new participant for the network. We let the par-

ticipant set the route. But after having run a step by step evaluation of that first implementation, a more clear step by step

procedure surfaced.

Meet the producer

It is really important actually to meet the producer in person. During that first conversations we try to find out who, what and

why is behind the procedures. Which are the products, if possible we even spent some time to see a processing phase.

1st Evaluation

The first evaluation is an internal procedure and it’s not communicated to the producer. The aim is to see if a producer could fit

in our network, basic questions to answer are: What is the story to tell? How close is he according to our values? What are the

main issues? How could we help?

Participating

After the results of the evaluation the producer is introduced by the members who met him in our assembly and a decision

upon participating is made.

16

Interventions on the second phase SLIDING SCALE PRICING ON PRODUCTS

Having set up our interaction points with the consumers, it was time to test our fairer price approach on the final products. So

a sliding scale fee similar to the one designed for services, but with a range of three equidistant prices was developed.

The difference this time was the fact that we ‘visualized’ the balance system. A jar was

placed over the cashier. Every time someone paid for the higher price (Solidarity price), the

difference between that and the middle (Fair price) went into the jar. When someone paid

the lower price (crucial) the difference was taken from the jar and put in the cashier. This

visualization was a way of letting people know exactly where their money went.

First Findings:

☑ Qualitative results of sliding scale for the consumer show us that people really think which price they wish to pay. Their

answer is almost never spontaneous and there is great diversity in the answers although the tendencies at least up to

now are obvious.

☑ Consumers are really looking for different, more open approaches. They are not as clung to low prices as they seem.

They are willing to pay a little extra for products that are different. More so when the difference is more information

and security on who made them. Also they prefer to support people that abide by values such as the ones of ATN.

RETAIL SHOPS

In addition to the producers, a supply network had to be established. We started with 2 retail shops, with the needed diversity

(consumer association & individual business), that would have some form of basic agreement to the values and methods.

These new participants would give us the opportunity to:

☑ Build up a second group of participants interconnected with the first one

☑ Serve as income provider for the producers

☑ Serve as interaction point with consumers

Our goal is to reach a small retail network of about 10 shops. And this would be the point where the ATN way would be obvi-

ous and reachable to everyone, since differentiation would not just be obvious to producers but communicated to consumers

by example and advocacy through the shops they knew and trusted. It goes without saying that supermarkets and chain stores

were left out of the diverse sample.

First Findings:

☑ Building a shop network really brought forth problems that needed a solution. The matter of coordination of purchases

and deliveries is not an easy thing especially if it needs to be done at low costs and involves small participants (shops

and producers alike).

☑ The big nightmare of logistics came to haunt us. Sometimes it gets to be more expensive than the purchase itself, and it

is one of the most difficult and disorganized processes.

☑ Shops are equally needy of knowledge and training and procedures that will make their life easier.

☑ The same set of steps that has been taken towards producers, will be designed for shops.

17

Values vs Business Activity

During the second implementation phase a more specific evaluation where executed on the producers and their position to-

wards ATN’s principles and values. This time, more factors were taken into account and not just verbal agreement. At this

point there were more objective facts and details on how the producers thought, how they organized their processes and what

were their true aims.

It also made pretty obvious on what specific subjects more work had to be done in order to make the system balance between

business and values. In addition it clearly showed the fact that no matter how much people would like to follow their own set

of values everyday activities and problems don’t leave much room for that.

PURCHASE , ORDER & WAREHOUSE TOOL

Despite the small number of standard interaction points, the need to monitor the logistics procedure became urgent. In order

to do so we developed a tool to handle purchase, orders and stock. This tool is currently being tested internally and later on a

pilot will be tested by network participants, retail shops and producers

PRICING TOOL

We created a pricing tool that can give out an estimate on: how each cost affects the price of the products, what are the real

costs for production, at what price products should be sold, how increasing quantities or cutting costs can affect prices.

This tool which is adjusted to the specific needs of the processor can be used in three different manners

☑ Calculate prices and give out specific guidelines on how to reduce or raise them

☑ Give an absolute picture of the profits or damages

☑ Can be used as a training and planning tool

In addition running the pricing tool for a participant of the network gives us insight on his procedures used. We are also able to

give more information on the price fairness.

The pricing tool has given really good results in identifying and breaking down the hidden problems associated with excessive

costs or miscalculations.

FOOTPRINT

A set of values is something that can be really abstract and can take many forms and definitions. In order to avoid this kind of

misunderstandings that led to the departure of two of the participants had to be more clearly defined. It was obvious from the

beginning that this would not be an easy thing to do since the values or objectives or fields of interest cannot be defined unam-

biguously and there are different approaches and levels of compliance. Also full compliance and perfection in one of them does

not give the result we need. So the whole point is to keep the balance between all 10 and, no matter how you start out (within

limits), gradually improve in all of them. As a result a process that will show where one stands at a certain moment had to be

developed. But this couldn’t be an audit leading to anxiety of compliance and it certainly couldn’t turn into a competition be-

tween the participants. The process behind should be one to encourage collaboration and self improvement.

A way of creating a value ‘footprint’ has been planned and is currently

being designed. Problems like balance between values, competition and

evaluation issues have been addressed. This footprint and its presentation

are designed to be also used as information exchange and collaboration

tool.

18

FITTING INTO THE ECOSYSTEM One totally separate activity of ATN was that of getting to know and fitting into its own ecosystem. That would in-

clude the movements, organizations, businesses and any entity in general that was close to its field of activity or

interest or in some way addressed its set of values.

These are some of the collaborations ATN worked on in the previous period:

Alternative Trade Mandate: We joined forces with 50 fair trade organizations under the Alternative Trade Man-

date, in order to demand of the European Parliament that was to be formed later on a commitment on a fairer

trade.

Solidarity for All: We joined solidarity for all in an effort to address the issues of social & solidarity economy. The

group is working on issues concerning social and solidarity economy entities in Greece and on implementing struc-

tures towards their development. At the same time this group takes initiatives of advocacy towards the state.

Food Working Group: the group concerning the matter of an alternative and cooperative food chain comprising

mainly cooperatives and addressing and working on problems that come up in this field and at the same time

offers a chance to strengthen relationships and collaborations between its members.

Municipality of Athens: The municipality of Athens participated in Urbact for sustainable food program. We partic-

ipated in the local support group together with other civil society initiatives. The outcome of the program was a

food policy workshop. This workshop is studying and forming suggestions on the Municipality’s food policy which is

under development.

Working collectives network: This group is dedicated on promoting its values on working cooperatives and with

working together on solving any problem a working cooperative may be facing. The largest proportion of partici-

pants is somehow associated with food.

Challenging the Crisis: We worked with Fair Trade Hellas in the seminars program it ran ‘Challenging the crisis’. It

was a round of seminars addressed to young people, in order to work on the problems associated with the eco-

nomical crisis.

www.alternative-trade.com