For the first time the IRDP/SGSY/Kudumbasree fair in the city is being organised in tune with green protocol. Though dustbins are kept in every nook and corner, they are largely empty. Plastic carry bags are rare. There are umpteen number of ‘Payasam’ stalls, but no disposable cups. The vendors take the pain to wash and reuse every glass and steel cup.
“We have given some instructions to the vendors. They are following them to a large extent. This is an experiment,” said Kripa Warrier, Suchitwa Mission Programme Officer, who is overseeing the ‘Zero Waste Kerala’ stall at the fair.
The Onam-Bakrid Fair that began on Tuesday at the Corporation Jubilee Hall in Tali is where the urban folk find the rural products that represent the days of yore, be it the traditional vegetables like chembu, chena, vazhappindi and vazhachundu or traditional snacks like the ariyunda, murukku and the mouthwatering tender mangoes in brine. This is where they come in search of the household machinery like the ones to de-husk coconuts or areca nuts besides the various grinding stones. The traditional hair wash, cosmetics, spices and utensils too have a place here. The mat made of pine leaves (kaithola paya) and the umbrella made of coconut leaves are always in great demand here.
With time, the fair has modernised itself too, with chocolates and puddings appearing in the snacks stalls. Though variety earthenware has always been a great attraction at the fair, the machine-made earthenware that resembles steel cookware is a welcome novelty this year.
The fair, which features stalls from self-help groups and small-scale entrepreneurs from Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, will conclude on Saturday.