The mart’s inventory consists of vegetables, fruits, pulses, rice, spices, honey, ghee, brown rice, white rice, buckwheat, millet, oats, beans, meats, tea and coffee, among others.

These products are sourced from farmers who have organic certification.

The mart is run by women entrepreneurs Shova Rayamajhi and Mona Thapa. Rayamajhi has been operating a weekend Farmers Market at 1905 on Kantipath every Saturday for more than 12 years.

“The crowds I saw at my weekly farmers market encouraged me to open a permanent outlet where clients could shop conveniently,” said Rayamajhi.

“It’s a community based social enterprise opened with the motive of helping local farmers and entrepreneurs by marketing and selling their products.”

Her partner Thapa said that selling products with a minimal mark-up was the main aim of the mart. “Due to the high transportation and production costs, organic products may be a little bit dearer, but we make sure that our customers get their daily food from a hygienic and safe source,” said Thapa.

Organic apple costs Rs 200 per kg while banana costs Rs 100 per dozen. Avocado and kiwi fruits costs Rs 350 per kg. Green tea costs Rs 595 for a 250 gm packet. Similarly, organic coffee costs Rs 950 for a 500 gm pack. Buckwheat flour costs Rs 150 per kg while millet flour is available at Rs 75 per kg.

“Our aim is to win customer trust by providing healthy food solutions and value for money and creating convenience and harmony,” said Thapa.

She added that they were trying to create awareness among people about natural and whole grain foods as food and vegetables that have been grown or processed using chemicals have heightened health risks alarmingly.

The mart packages purchases in paper bags instead of plastic bags with the greenery concept. “As we want to create a healthy environment, we are moving ahead with a strong commitment to say no to the use of plastic,” Rayamajhi said.

The mart opens for three days a week on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 am to 4 pm.