PANAJI
It is fresh, local and seasonal at this community market. The ‘Homegrown & Homemade Market’ is being hosted at the organic farm of Laban D’Souza, an award-winning farmer from Nuvem, on January 10. This is the 10th Salcete edition, with the previous nine held in 2025. People who attended the December edition still recall it as a memorable evening. Carols filled the air, sung by children and senior citizens. Tables were full of handmade crafts and seasonal produce, grills were busy, and there was plenty of good food along with Christmas cheer.
“Most of us felt like a neighbourhood coming together,” recalls Laban, who has been generously offering his farm space for the market. This time too, there will be music, local food, seasonal produce and Goan crafts to keep visitors engaged, assures Roland Martins, founder and convener at GOACAN. He, along with Yogita Mehra of Green Essentials, has come together to bring the idea of a community market to Salcete.
The theme of the ‘Homegrown & Homemade Market’ was planted exactly a year ago, in January 2025, at a ‘Friday Balcao’ meeting of organic growers and enthusiastic consumers at the same location. During the discussion, growers said they had no direct access to consumers, while consumers said they did not know where to find organic produce. To bridge this gap, it was decided to create a platform where both groups could meet and support each other. This led to the birth of the ‘Homegrown & Homemade Market’.
Since then, people have been setting aside the second Saturday of every month to spend relaxed evenings with local growers, makers and food producers, enjoying fresh, seasonal and handmade food at this community-centred meeting point.
“Local markets are about much more than buying and selling. They are places where communities gather, meet old friends, make new ones and strengthen the local bond,” says Yogita Mehra. She adds that in times when communities seem to be drifting apart, supporting local growers and makers is a simple and joyful way to keep neighbourhoods alive.
At the market, several vendors bring homemade and handmade products. Agatho’s Essentials and Agatho’s Food & Nutrition offer handmade soaps, kombucha, farm produce such as pineapple, papaya, bananas and seasonal vegetables, chicken eggs, coconut oil, wild honey, moringa powder and turmeric powder.
Bailancho Ekvott sells Goan sea shells, recycled jeans bags, upcycled earrings, key chains, mini cactus plants, foot mats and cloth bags. Fur Loved offers chicken jerkies, chicken and vegetable jerkies, liver bites, fish bites, fish with herbs, dog fashion items and meal toppers.
Green Essentials has potting soil, seasonal vegetable seeds and seedlings, potted herbs, organic manures and pest repellents. Ira Kare’s Paper Whims provides DIY kits for adults and children, gift envelopes, tags and cards.
Laban and Kevin D’Souza sell black and white pepper, dried kokum, nutmeg, turmeric powder, coconut oil, homemade wine, chicken eggs, fruits such as banana and soursop, hog plum (ambade), coconuts, and take orders for desi chicken and duck meat.
Lee’s Bee’s offers pure unprocessed honey, beeswax candles, pain relief balms, camphor muscle cream, rubs, hand and body balms and lip balms. The Micro Ferns brings fresh microgreens, seeds and DIY kits.
Pausenbrot sells organic German sourdough breads, ciabatta, baguette, focaccia, pretzels, cinnamon rolls and apple crumble. Secret Hands offers artisanal soaps, shampoo bars, bath salts, face wash buffs and hair and face serums, with hair oil, kombucha starters, panjiri and bio enzymes on order.
Studio Paddyfields displays 2026 postcard calendars, postcards, tea light holders, notebooks, diaries, art prints and DIY kits. Studio Mahria showcases terracotta pots with glass bangle work, crochet items, hand-painted magnets, canvas paintings and recycled paper gift bags.
The market runs from 4 pm to 8 pm. Regular customers often pre-book their orders. Roland says there is demand from Vasco and Bardez to start similar markets, and GOACAN is ready to guide them.
At one market, a consumer asked for fresh fish, and the vendor brought it the next time. Vendors even sing between the stalls while seniors sit and enjoy the evening. Every market also discusses an issue, with the current focus on waste management. The next market will be held on February 14.
