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Women farmers at Mungia (Bizkaia) Market. Photo credit: Akaitze Kamiruaga. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

Yesterday, on 2 December and to mark Basque Language Day, Bilbao City Council paid tribute to the vendejeras [women selling their wares at market] who continue to bring their produce to La Ribera Market; in recognition of the many decades that they have bought the Basque language of their different areas to Bilbao, along with the produce from their vegetable gardens.

Nowadays, it is unlikely that many people under fifty will have ever heard the word “vendeja”. The vendeja is the fruit and vegetable produce that the baserritarras (women farmers) take to market. And vendejera is used to refer to the women selling their wares.

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