Caption 1- At the ComePostVille Farmer’s Market Huddle on April 24, 2022, the second of its kind…folk get familiar with local farm produce and learn valuable tips about how to do your own wet waste composting at home and to be your own farmer, to harvest your own food! B
IT was a Sunday with a difference! Sunday, April 24, 2022. The sky was clear with the birds adding to the excited buzz and chatter in the air! Normally I’m not a fan of stepping out of the house on a Sunday and especially with the weather of late being so irksome, but I heard that the Farmer’s Huddle market was not to be missed. So I put on my sneakers and went to visit it. Once I got there I signed and looked around.
By Yelena D’Souza
There were a number of stalls neatly lined up around the grounds. A simple, rustic vibe filled the air and people who had heard about the market were coming in. I was on a mission here though and met with my friend Teshu Pateria, who was in charge of photography, and we made some plans on how we should work together for a good future ahead of us from today onwards! Once decided I took out my notebook and started talking to the people around at the farmer’s market.
The first stall I visited belonged to Selma Monteiro and Shirley Alvares. They had put out all kinds of delicious goodies to buy and eat. Both said they enjoyed cooking and were happy to cook for the market event. Nearby another participant had newspaper bags and the woman her explained the importance of using eco-friendly bags in all the ways we can, plastic bags are toxic for the environment, lease shun them! Instead please think green and go green and adopt sustainable habits like using newspaper and cloth bags routinely for shopping and packing food.
There was another stall with a plastic-free theme and here were pure organic biodegradable products made of bamboo grass and neem. Toothbrushes and tongue cleaners and much else, amazing! All were bamboo products and for a sustainable lifestyle. Elsewhere I saw homemade mango products on sale and the stuffed mango pickle caught my eye for this is a Goan favourite come the mango season. Making this ickle is a long, tiring process but worth the trouble and we all want to eat healthier pickles.
Someone was selling fresh vegetables, potted plants of all kinds, bio-enzymes which I learned should replace chemicals in farming as soon as possible. Perpetua Araujo was selling organic rice and beans cultivate in her own fields with the help of natural fertilizers like cowdung and compost. Nestor Rangel is a farmer who takes his farming seriously for it is both his love and business – his people here had farm produce ranging from red rice to vegetables to kokum and other fruit.
Mayuri More is into quilling and her jewelry was exquisite; she said over time she had taken to stencilling and designing coffee table and wall art hangings too. It had taken her years of research into this hobby. At Sahatya by Help India there were all kinds of eco-friendly jute bags. These are reusable and eco-friendly and nowadays most have taken to buying and using jute bags. Heena showcased her sustainable modern postcards. In answer to a question she told me that the postcards were made out of 100 per cent recycled paper, she had drawn Japanese characters on some of them to remind people to express themselves in writing. She told me it isn’t pleasant to be busy all the time! Stop a while to travel and virtually exchange stories via postcards.
Others who intrigued with their offerings were Jennifer Fernandes with her crochet work, she said it was a hobby she picked up post-retirement. Now she has been doing crochet work for some time and they are a group of friends engaged in this wonderful and fruitful pass time. Dipti Sardessai, an artist, said she enjoys painting and had jewelry of another kind, eco-friendly jewelry which are many have taken to wearing nowadays.
I saw lots of mango produce for it is mango season, all put out for sale by self-help group women. With the number of small home farms increasing the owners are looking for an outlet for their produce to earn some money. So such weekly huddle markets come as a real boon for them and their home-made temptations. One man was helping his mother sell her bora pickles, this is a unique find for not many make bora pickles.
Archana Desai, a plant lover, had plants for sale to promote a Go Green movement. She concentrates on succulents and for last four years she said she had been finding succulents a joy to grow, they are easily grown and maintain and in metro cities the concept of succulent gardens at home is growing far and wide, people like to use succulents as a as gifting option nowadays. She also avoids plastic containers and instead uses lovely planters made of coir, ceramic or terracotta.
By the end of my visit around the market, I was very glad that I had taken the decision to step out of my home and visit the super cool Sunday market. There was much her to quench thirst and feed the stomach along with new faces and friends to make and catch up with new idea and ways to do things. I am looking forward to the next market with a difference!