On Solid Ground

Community members sell, shop and socialize on the new asphalt in the market plaza. Photo: Mercy Corps Serbia

Dust on hot days. Mud after wet days. Sewage and standing water on rainy days. Delimedge’s open-air market in this rural hamlet of southwest Serbia was no more than a clear patch of ground near the town center - and a low one at that.

After heavy rains, not only would the market grounds flood, a nearby septic tank would overflow with storm water and sewage. Regardless, the weekly market day activities were held.

Farmers throughout the countryside came to sell their produce along with the regular vendors of domestic goods. If it was too wet or muddy or dusty, they displayed their goods out of their trunks, vans or truck beds. Not really an ideal situation, but what could they do?

With the arrival of the Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program in 2001, funded by USAID and implemented locally by Mercy Corps, the citizens of Delimedge seized the opportunity to improve their marketplace.

In cooperation with their municipal government, the town citizens and community leaders laid out plans for a simple, asphalted and fenced market space. A perimeter drainage system provided the relief they needed from their water and sewage problems.

All stakeholders contributed to the financial, material or labor aspects of the project. In short order, the bare lot in the center of town had become its showplace.

Market day is no longer at the whim of the weather - it has become the economic and social hub of town life. Vendors more easily display their products and shoppers benefit from more sellers and a variety of merchandise. It still rains. Dust still swirls on occasion, but in Delimedge, not many are taking notice.