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Families and friends from across the kingdom are flocking to the latest weekend market to open on the island for a fun day out playing board games, sampling tasty home-baked goods and supporting local businesses.
The non-profit Al Basta Market, located next to Riffa Views housing development, is a joint initiative between Tamkeen and the Southern Governorate. Over the next three months, the organisers hope to give visitors a taste of 144 enterprises as exhibitors are being offered free-of-charge space to showcase their wares.
Farmer Khalid Mahmood Mohammed Saddiq from Jasra said: “We have attracted many customers wanting to buy our fresh produce and our display cage of baby chicks is proving a big draw with the children.”
While prices vary from stall to stall, Khalid’s vegetables are being snapped up by shoppers, particularly the tomatoes at 300fils per kilo and broccoli at BD1 per kilo.
Bahraini folk music echoed throughout the market as parents made their rounds picking ripe vegetables and sweet smelling potted flowers. Meanwhile, children, when not enthralled by the baby chicks, played board games at the different shaded seating areas around the market.
As well as farmers there were gardeners, jewellery and shirt designers and bakers. One farmer offered fresh juice to visitors while another stall selling dates served up coffee.
Russell Bennett, 40, a banker from Riffa Views, attended the market with his three children, Jake, eight, Poppy, six, and Summer, two. He said: “We bought some vegetables and plants. It’s close to home which is its biggest selling point for us.”
Eman Jassim, a vet from Riffa, enjoyed a family day out with her husband, five children and her in-laws. She said: “It’s great to visit with the kids, especially on such a beautiful day.”
Another stall attracting many visitors was Ndawi Designs, a Bahraini print design business. Nada Abdullatif Almugahwi, 20, from Arad, its managing director, showcased her graphic T-shirt designs, mugs and other products, including notebooks. She said: “I design different items with funny or unique images or catchphrases and have received a lot of positive feedback and even sold out of notebooks!”
Homemade tasty treats were selling like hotcakes at 500fils and BD1 a time. HomeBakes owner Fatima Al Janahi, 31, from Riffa, said: “I started my baked goods business in October and have sold them at different markets. There’s a rich variety of buns – original, cheese, chocolate spread, red velvet bun with cream cheese filling and coconut flakes, my Christmas mint chocolate bun and a pistachio bun I call blush. My Muharraq bun is made with traditional Bahraini Helwa.”
A unique wall where children and families can hang up their written wishes for all to see is also a popular element to the market. Some youngsters wished that Bahrain would see peace and unity while others asked to become doctors, rock stars and one parent wished his child would start talking.
Mohammed Bucheery, Tamkeen’s private sector support senior manager, said: “We are immensely pleased with the huge response from traders and public alike and look forward to seeing it expand and develop further in terms of size, quality and number of participants.”
*The launch of the project follows the huge response to the farmers market in Budaiya.
