Kaja Sööt, a long-time seller of the Metsavenna dairy farm in the village of Vastse-Roosa near the Estonia-Latvia border, told “Vikerhommikus” that although the small shop does not make a profit, it still plays an important role in maintaining the market community of the village together.
Sööt has been a shopkeeper for 50 years, he is now retired, but he still goes to the shop to help out. “You have to retain your customers well. In the countryside it’s not easy, young people tend to go to the city. There has to be something to offer them to come here to shop,” said Sööt.
30 years ago there was always a queue in the shop. “Especially at lunchtime, when the workers arrived. Then there were a lot of people,” says Sööt, noting, however, that people continue to go there, especially in the summer. “Then the tourists come, thanks to the fact that we have a filming location here for the film Vargamägi,” she said. In winter, however, the area is visited thanks to the ski and sledding slopes.
According to Sööd, many people come to the shop from far away, including Latvians, who come to the shop to buy hair and nails. When asked if Latvians don’t know how to make cheese, Sööt replied that they probably don’t understand.
According to Sööd, turnover has obviously decreased compared to the past. While some small shops are able to make ends meet by selling alcohol, this is not the case for them, according to Sööd. “I don’t think we drink that much. Maybe the people who bought before got lost and the younger people don’t drink that much anymore.”
Sometimes they come to the store simply to complain about their problems. “We talk, we offer tea and coffee – there are still people like that. People want to be together,” Sööt said.
Sööt thought that people would be very sad if the shop closed for a moment. “He doesn’t even make a profit, but simply keeps his people together. If Meelis (Meelis Mõttus, dairy manager-ed.) wasn’t in this village, I think there wouldn’t even be life,” says Sööt.
2024-01-06 08:35:00
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