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Strawberries are a top product
for the auction house. More
than 200 family businesses
earn a living with it. They put a
lot of knowledge and energy into carefully
picking, selecting and presenting them.
The result: Belgian strawberries are
renowned all over the world!
The village of Melsele is 20 minutes’
driving from Passe Partout’s Belgian office
in Temse.
And Melsele means strawberries. Ever
since the end of the 19th century, the
village has been famous for its crops
of the delicious red fruit. Melsele has its
numerous strawberry sheds along the
way from mid-May to the end of June or
beginning of July each year. The exact start
date depends on when the strawberries
are full-grown.
Living conditions for small farmers and
labourers at the beginning of the 20th
century were pretty sad. To improve
their situation, they saw possibilities in
cultivating strawberries on their small
pieces of land. This labour-intensive
harvest was mainly done by small
farmers, their women and children.
Those days, the transport to the early
morning market in Ghent was heavy and
difficult. That’s why these small farmers
set up their own mini market in Melsele
since 1932. Melsele became famous for
its daily fresh strawberries. Thousands of
kilos were sold over the years.
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