Meghalaya’s first organic market in Shillong sells out in two hours

The farmers who set up under a tarpaulin in Shillong’s polo ground on Saturday morning were not expecting a queue. By noon, their produce — blood-red rice, turmeric, wild honey, and vegetables grown without a drop of pesticide — had sold out.

The market, organised by a collective of 54 farmers from Ri-Bhoi and the East Khasi Hills, is the state’s first fully certified organic weekly bazaar.

The premium over market prices was about 30 per cent. The collective’s next goal: cold storage, so nothing goes unsold.