Island Market’s lawn sales with a cause
When the pandemic began and disrupted everyone’s lives, Nisreen Dissanayake, a mother of two and accountant by profession asked herself, “How can we break this frustrating cycle of not being able to do things that we normally could?”; “How can I help society and people struggling?”
The answer came to her in the form of a space down Marine Drive, Colpetty, next to Marine Beach Hotel which she thought would be an ideal location to host lawn sales. This is how Island Market was formed. Island Market would go on to host several sales, each with a different mission, all featuring a myriad of goods from clothes, food, jams and other condiments, homeware, arts and crafts and more.
Alina and Nisreen (centre) with members of the Mindful team
It was back in February 2021 that they hosted their first event with 17 small businesses participating. The next one which was planned during the Avurudu season the same year had 45 brands bringing their goods. “During December, we had a fundraising sale where all the funds made were collected for the upliftment of society and providing the less fortunate with sustenance. For instance, if you bake cakes, but you don’t have the facility to buy yourself a machine, we would support you in getting that machine,” Nisreen shares giving us a little more insight into how they help the community.
There have been more lawn sales with the goal of empowering women, the disabled and other marginalised sections of society. Island Market has provided the space and support to those who were financially unable to get a stall space and given them a platform to showcase their goods and services. Those with disabilities are also offered free space. Island Market has also partnered with the Swashakthi Foundation of Persons with Disability and Sahanaya in the past to encourage more vendors to join their sales.
Last Saturday saw their ‘Reduce, Reuse, Re-wear’ Lawn sale in collaboration with the Eco Conscious Warrior which was was founded by Alina, a young vocal advocate for low waste, climate action and conservation. A strong believer that making green choices doesn’t mean you have to compromise what you enjoy in life, Alina majored in Environmental Studies with minors in sustainability and psychology and aspires to a career in conservation.
“We wanted to promote conscious brands with new, sustainable products that were eco-friendly. There were a lot of people who came for the sale and left happy because they made very thrifty finds,” Nisreen says, adding that it was a very niche group because only certain people support the concept of sustainability. This time around 30 vendors were present.
A sale in full swing
Some of the brands present were the Saree Library selling preloved sarees and other items, Read and Return Co. with a wide range of secondhand books, Serendip with their upcycled clothing and bucket hats, Tails of Freedom who had a collection of clothes, books, doggie treats and more… Each stall had gone all out to show their commitment to eco-friendly practices.
Also supporting the Island Market and the Eco Conscious Warrior was Mindful Pvt. Limited with their Media team helping out with the content creation for the event. Fun fact – they plant a tree for every content project that is booked with them. The Mindful Community is a social networking site that allows you to find and join communities to meet new people and share group activities ranging from sports to group meditations and travel.
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