Big organic market planned in Bahrain

MANAMA, 2 hours, 38 minutes
ago

An organic food market is being planned for the island of Nabih Saleh, south of Manama.

The market, which will only feature food that has been produced without the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides or other artificial chemicals, has been proposed by one of the island’s coastal landowners.

He wants to use a patch of land where a building ban is in force to set up the market for the good of the community, Capital Trustees Board vice-chairman Mazen Alumran told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

“The landowner is not looking to make huge profits from the market and stalls will be leased to farmers through the Nabih Saleh Charitable Society,” said Alumran.

“He can’t develop this plot of land anyway since it falls within an area of the island where building is prohibited, but fortunately for those who will use the market it will be located on Tubli Bay.

“The market will be Bahrain’s first purely dedicated organic market and we in the Capital Trustees will set the criteria for who can take part.”

The official said that stalls at the market would only be offered to residents of Nabih Saleh to start with, although vendors from neighbouring areas such as Sitra and Tubli may be considered in the future.

“Despite recent urbanisation, Nabih Saleh still lacks several facilities and this market would certainly benefit residents,” said Alumran, who is also the Trustees technical committee chairman.

“We are still working on the designs and how to best use the land earmarked for the project, but work should commence soon as the sheds and stalls required for the market will be funded by the landowner.

“We are expecting to open the market by the end of the year.”

The proposed market is not intended as competition for the already popular Farmer’s Market held on Saturdays in Budaiya,  Alumran said, although no decision has yet been taken on what day it will be held.

“The more markets the better, but we are dedicating our attention to a completely different approach – we are not trying to eliminate other existing markets,” he said.

As well as fresh organic produce, the market may also feature a live “catch and cook” station for the island’s fishermen, according to Alumran.

“We are always open to suggestions and in addition to gardeners in Nabih Saleh, there are fishermen,” he said.

“Some fishermen have asked for space and we are looking to incorporate this into our designs,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service