Page 71 - Changing Living Spaces

Peasants, Land, and Work

either on the farms themselves or in their vicinity. After all, Slovenia was
a country with more than 60 percent forest cover. Clay was equally acces-
sible throughout the Slovenian territory. Straw was a by-product, as grain
was the most important crop. On this basis, the production of straw hats
began in Domžale as early as the end of the nineteenth century. After the
First World War, production increased, which gave many peasants from
central Slovenia the opportunity to participate in this process by making
the straw braids needed for straw hats (Moder 1962, 73–84).
The agricultural cottage industry was supplemented by a distribution
system, and a functional division of labour established itself. The role of
local merchants as intermediaries between farmers/producers and con-
sumers was indispensable. There were a few examples of cooperatives,
to take care of collective sales and raise the price of products (Mohorič
1950–51, 23). However, the results were not encouraging, despite the ex-
amples of good practices and government support. These cooperatives,
too often constrained by local conditions, were unable to achieve the
economies of scale necessary for their existence and operations to influ-
ence existing distribution and price relationships. Moreover, they were
preoccupied with themselves in the 1930s because of the constant threat
of illiquidity. Documents show that farmers sometimes marketed their
products themselves, especially at fairs, whose economic importance
gradually declined in the interwar period despite their large numbers.
Nevertheless, the practice of peddling persisted (Zdovc 2006, 95–103).
In a broader sense, peddlers were local product intermediaries who were
part of the system of division of labour in cottage industries. Peasants
from the Ribnica area were a classic example: they moved from village
to village or from fair to fair, selling retail wooden products directly to
consumers (Trošt 1950–51, 28–67). In the interwar period, potters from
the Prekmurje region also continued this tradition (Novak 1950–51, 130).
The ceramic craft or pottery was mainly present in the eastern parts of
the country. There were many potters there, as the initial conditions for
this activity were modest, while the raw materials were abundant, cheap
and easily accessible (Karlovšek 1950–51, 87–111; Novak 1950–51, 111–30).
Pottery was a typical example of an activity in decline, because kitch-
en utensils made of metal and porcelain had already begun to displace
traditional pottery. This was only one specific example of the general
trend of increasing industrialization, which affected the market oppor-
tunities of the craft. Another example was peasants’ textile production,
which – with a few exceptions, as the precisely documented example of

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