Hernan, a vendor of fresh fruit and vegetables, started working at the “Twelfth of October” food market in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1979. Back then he says there weren’t so many big supermarket chains, and his sales went a long way. Nonetheless, the market has improved a lot over the past years, especially since the space and its infrastructure have been renovated.
There is great diversity in fresh fruit in Colombia and they are one of the key features at most markets. In the southern Bogota district of San Cristobal, the “20has existed for around 50 years. San Cristobal is amongst the city’s four districts with the lowest household incomes. Hernan has been trading at 12 Octubre for more than 40 years, even before the market became part of the Ipes network of markets.