Welcome to Manchester

"Green Shop Interview" by Marina

What is the idea behind the Green Shop?
I believe that the main idea behind the Green Shop is to provide to the people a place where is possible to have and share ideas. It is also a place where people can avoid the word “money” since many products inside the shop are not to sell, but to change. The coin used in the Green Shop is “Common Sense” and that means that the people can take our products and bring us their products, creating a nice, fair and ecological trade.

How the idea was born?
Me and my team (DNS 2011) got employed in Tvind, during our three months saving-up period. The purpose of our job was to bring new ideas, new activities to our students; to create a lively and active environment. One day, the main responsible for our jobs asked me, during a conversation of maximum five minutes, what do I think about the idea of a shop in Tvind, where we could sell old and restored clothes and furniture. I said “yes” without hesitate and few days later I put all my ideas on a paper. After, I gave to her the plan of my project and also to one of the Tvind headmasters and to my teacher. The project was approved and I started.
I can say that the project was inspired by my travels and by my critic vision about our contemporary societies. I visited many squatters houses, in different countries, and other alternative places where culture, education, free thinking and solidarity were present. I think the Green Shop is a humble summary of all of these.

Did you have any difficulties while establishing The Green shop?

I had difficulties enough, I guess. The Green Shop's room was a bit damaged because nobody was using it for a long period: the electricity was not working (which means no light and no heating system), the ceiling was in very bad conditions, the window frames were degraded and so on. However, I think the worse difficulty was the cold: Every morning, I had to walk to pick up wood to light up the fire. Even so, the room is big and only around lunch time, it was warm enough. All the other difficulties were solved more easily than the cold, I risk to say. I also had help from many different people: sometimes people were just coming to the Green Shop to give me a cup of coffee, a sandwich or cookies, to sit down and just talk for a while. Our students brought to me all the heavy furniture. The Promotion Office sponsored my tea breaks and lent me the hoover, many times. I don’t need to say “Thank you” for all the people that helped me overcoming the difficulties because I said to them “Thank you” everyday. They were extremely important! In fact, the small attitudes were, many times, the more meaningful ones.

What you can do and what you can find in the Green Shop?
If I would arrive to a place like the Green Shop I would turn on the music, probably some Jazz, sit down near to the fireplace, enjoy a fair-trade coffee, read one of our books or take my time to get involved in a good conversation. However, I believe that is possible to find more original people and for these ones, the Green Shop provides many other options. The Green Shop is divided in sections: The Café, where is possible to drink a fair trade coffee or tea and try our biological and home made cookies and jams; The Library, where is possible to sit down and enjoy a book and also use (and abuse) of the modern concept of “Book Crossing”, which means that the people can bring a book and change with one of ours; The Clothes and Accessories (all second hand) where is, as well, possible to change stuff but also buy it; The Random Section, where is possible to find all kinds of different house decorations, handicraft, electronic materials and so on (also to change and to buy); And my favorite, The Awareness Table. The Awareness Table is a table covered by social, educational, environmental, political and economical pictures, texts and quotes. I highly recommend to take time to look at it or sit down with a group of people and have interesting debates. It is a table for free thinking and free conversations. Of course, in the end of this visit, it would be nice to write something in our Guest Book: an old typing machine; thoughts, advices, critics, suggestions, compliments... all the words are welcome!

Why „Green“?
Green, just by its own, gives a feeling of Nature, natural, biological, balance, renovation, life and that was the purpose of the name: to pass on all of these! But, in fact, even if the name mentions the color green, the main color of the shop is red. And that is because a bit of irony gives more personality to the place. Isn’t it?

What are the main reasons to have these kinds of shops around?
Well, I have more difficulties to understand the main reasons to have a global trade, based on exploitation, massive production and polluting materials. We all know that we are living in a consumerist society; where big corporations took over the production, the variety and the offer. When we go to a big shop or a big supermarket we are participating in this unconscious system. If we decided to support small shops, environment friendly and with original productions, we will for sure contribute for a more equal global society and a better world. The fact that it is also possible to change your products, instead of buying new ones, shows that the money doesn’t have the huge importance that “we” give to it. Which is something quite nice to think about, right?

How do you imagine the Green Shop in the future?
The Green Shop is a interesting place only when there are people inside. Without people, there's nothing special there! So that would be my wish for that place: to be open for everybody.
I will be living in England, during the next six months, as part of the DNS second year program so I don’t know exactly what will happen with the Green Shop. Maybe someone from DNS2010 or DNS2013 will take care of it... (= In my opinion, the Green Shop has to be a free, lively and original place, that is how I imagine it.

Green Moments