In our neighborhood, every Saturday, an organic market is set up. This time I decided to give it a try. Organic foods are available in UAE in Union Coop Supermarkets but in Majaz Park every Saturday from 9AM to 2 PM ?Ripe Fruit & Craft Market? is set up. The tag line of this market is Fresh, Local & Organic.

When we were about to enter the car park of Majaz Park we noticed that the parking is also green. It means that no paper was required to get the parking. Simply press the button, take a token & park. Going out you will pay through this token which will be returned to the machine for reusing. Normally I see a lot of paper receipts floating around. This is a good beginning! I exclaimed to my father. Let?s hit the market now.

Most excited as I entered the market area I noticed around 40-50 shops were set up. All were selling the Eco-friendly products from LED Bulbs, bags, kitchen appliances, Apparels, Decoration Material, Candles, Crockery, Chocolates and most importantly Organic Vegetables & Fruits. To be honest so much eco-friendly stuff was available under one roof that making a choice was difficult. I was tempted to take a bit of everything. I went to all stalls & enquired how the products they are selling is eco-friendly. All explained about the same & it added to my knowledge a lot.

LED bulbs contains no mercury & their lifespan in 15-20 years, kitchen appliances were made of porcelain, granite, sustainable naturally grown mountain bamboo etc. The organic foods & vegetables were all locally grown & sourced. Means the authorities guarantee that the product comes in your hand with 5 days of plucking from the fields. This is simply great as the taste & aroma of such food item will be extremely fresh, tasty & naturally juicy.

When I purchased some fruits & vegetables I noticed that the packaging, shopping basket & shopping bags all were eco-friendly products. It was amazing to notice. After our shopping was over we sipped organic coconut water. It was delicious & refreshing. Organic foods are without pesticides & preservatives. They are grown in local conditions. It means only seasonal food shall be available. These days the season in fruits has simply vanished e.g. you will find Apples all around the year.

I encourage all my local mates who are in UAE to make full use of this market. It is held in Dubai & Abu Dhabi also. The best part is all the food is local, packaging is local & consumption is local. The food has no travel time associated which contributes to the green concept as the carbon footprint is NIL in this case.