In this blog post, I share some of my ideas about how the REKO local food network functions as a socio-material space shaped by powerful marketplace mythologies. My thinking is based on seeing these myths as the shared narratives and practices that influence what we see as “normal” or “good” in market life. REKO is especially intriguing because it brings together very different kinds of market stories.
REKO within Traditional Market Myths
In many ways, REKO fits neatly into the familiar capitalist market mythology. Producers rely on sales for their livelihoods. They make decisions about pricing, production methods, and efficiency just like any small business. Consumers, for their part, compare products, evaluate their value, and choose what to buy based on preference or price. Even Facebook works as a platform where producers and consumers have learned to live with algorithms (see Steffi’s blog post).
REKO thus depends on contemporary, neo-liberal infrastructures: it is a trading system that mirrors broader trends in the platform economy. In this sense, REKO continues to reproduce traditional market narratives centred on competition, efficiency, and human agency.
But this is only half the story.
REKO as a Challenge to Traditional Market Myths
Alongside these familiar market practices, REKO also nurtures an alternative set of values and logics that resonate strongly with ecofeminist thinking – a marketplace myth focused on care, interdependence, and multispecies well-being. Several features illustrate this shift.
First, many producers prioritize animal welfare, soil health (see Daniel’s blog post), biodiversity, and long-term sustainability over short-term gains. Consumers, in turn, value relationships, trust, and ethical commitments, not just the lowest price.
Second, REKO foregrounds the role of non-human actors: animals, seasons, weather, soil. Producers and consumers do acknowledge nature’s rhythms and constraints, making ecological dependency part of the market conversation rather than something hidden behind supply chains.
Third, instead of promising constant availability, REKO embraces seasonality and sufficiency (see my blog post together with Evianna). Tomatoes appear when they appear. Products may run out. This contrasts sharply with the dominant market logic of endless supply and efficiency.
In conclusion
REKO is not a pristine alternative to conventional markets, nor is it fully absorbed by them. Instead, it operates as a marketplace, where different mythologies coexist productively, sometimes also contradictory. This nature allows REKO to function within current food systems while still offering room for change, or alternative worldings, as argued by Emma in her blog post.
REKO doesn’t claim to overthrow capitalism or build a perfect ecological utopia. What it does offer is a practical, lived example of how markets can expand to include ecological care, relational values, and multispecies well-being – all without abandoning economic realities.
Written by Hanna