Joncy Ann has her hands full as she is busy frying fish, baking chicken and cooking Biriyani for a virtual flea market. An engineer-turned entrepreneur, the mom of three is now showcasing her culinary skills.

With a range of pocket-friendly products, many exhibitions support women entrepreneurs selling snacks, bakes, trinkets, clothes, artworks, home linen and so on.

This year, the lockdown came as a rude shock to them as all the scheduled fairs had to be cancelled. Then, Mamtha Pillai, an entrepreneur herself, came up with the idea of an online flea market for products sold by women.

“Women entrepreneurs were at a loose end. Some of them had placed orders for saris and dresses while the others had made or bought stocks for this season. The flea market came as a relief and our sales for Aadi (conducted online in the first week of August) boosted our morale,” says Mamtha.

While the Malayalam month of Chingam was kicked off with a sale of Kanchipuram saris, another day was set aside for traditional Kerala wear.

The Onam sale begins today (August 22) and will be on till August 26. Saris, dress materials, snacks and savouries, desserts, healthcare products, home décor articles, baby products and more are up for the picking.

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“Each day is set aside for a specific product, beginning with clothing and jewellery,” says Mamtha.

August 23 has been earmarked for food.

“In addition to payasams and homemade snacks like avalose podi and fries, there will be cakes and other desserts,” Mamta adds.

Traditional treats

Excited about showcasing her collection, 58-year-old Geetha Sreeram, a homemaker from Valiyasala agraharam says “This is my first venture as an entrepreneur. My children and grandchildren persuaded me to do this.”

She will be selling gothambunda, poruvilanga, elayada and sarkkara aval, besides home-made curry powders such as sambar powder, curry leaves powder and chutney powder.

Vijayam Ramachandran has handmade jewellery made by her under her banner, Trinkets.

While health and beauty care items will be sold on the third day, home linen and gardening products will be showcased on the fourth day of the fête.

Masks, washable diapers and other miscellaneous goods will be available on the final day. Some vendors will be continuing the sale till August 31, Mamtha adds.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm among the vendors. Those who post pre-recorded and live videos get more online customers when compared to those who upload only photos,” she observes.

App-based home delivery is available within the city. For those outside Thiruvananthapuram, buys will be delivered via the postal department or courier service.