The market is located in front of the yard of Hai Au Bay Kindergarten (Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City). The market has no name and no fixed opening hours.

Because this is a seasonal market, there are only a couple of occasions a year when gardeners and processors bring their own grown and made products to sell.

Sell ​​whatever you have

Many first-time visitors do not think this is a market. Because the goods displayed are very few, the layout is rudimentary. The location is also a temporary school during the school holidays.

Right at the entrance of the market is a stall of a group of young people from Da Lat making their own fermented fruit juices. A little further inside, there is a tiny table with about 10 bags of homegrown cashew nuts that they process and sell.

There is even a stall selling tragacanth gum, but if customers want to eat it right away, the owner still has bowls and ice ready to serve.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Khac Huy (35 years old, living in Dong Nai) brought to this market three bunches of bananas, a few papayas, a few taro tubers... That is what his small garden has to sell here.

Mr. Huy said he was one of the first people to set up this market, which has been going on for seven years now. However, the number of times the market is held is very small, because it is only held a few times a year.

“My family's garden, like many others here, is usually small in scale, does not use chemicals, has a variety of plants, and aims for food self-sufficiency.

This is not only a business opportunity but also an opportunity for us gardeners to meet each other, meet customers, and take the opportunity to go out into the city to do whatever needs to be done" - Mr. Huy shared.

For Ms. Tran Thi My Phuong (25 years old, living in Da Lat), who sells kumquats and many other fermented fruit juices, this is one of the occasions she looks forward to most in the year.

Ms. Phuong said that in Da Lat, there are still markets selling homemade products like this, but the atmosphere is not the same as here. “That is the reason why I came from Da Lat to meet everyone. In addition, this is also an opportunity for me to return to the city to visit relatives and friends, inviting them to choose clean products that I made myself,” Ms. Phuong shared.

Sold in bottles and jars

The people who come to the market are all regular customers of the garden owners. Some people know about the market through social media so they come to check it out. Although it is called going to the market, some people want to buy things but cannot because they have not prepared the tools to carry them home.

Mr. Khac Huy said that everyone sells by measuring out the products in bottles or putting them in paper bags. If customers buy a small amount, they can take it home themselves, minimizing plastic waste.

At some stalls selling fruit wine, molasses, peanut butter, etc., the seller will prepare several glass jars of about 100ml. The number of jars is limited, so everyone is encouraged to bring their own tools to buy.

Like the couple Ho Thi Bich Hanh (33 years old) and Le Anh Tai (36 years old), although they traveled quite far from District 7, they still carried a lot of bottles and jars. At the last market, although they really liked it, they couldn't buy anything because they didn't bring any containers.

Ms. Hanh recalls: “At that time, I saw online that there was a market selling clean products, behind which were interesting stories of the garden owners, so I went to experience it. I really liked it. The first time I went, I thought there would be bags like a normal market, but unexpectedly, no one here gave me bags, so I had to go home empty-handed.”

This time, Ms. Hanh and her husband brought 3-4 1.5-liter plastic bottles to buy fruit juice, and a few jars to buy peanut butter and molasses. She also kept a few paper bags ready to pick up whatever she liked.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Ngan (25 years old, living in Thu Duc City) came to the market for the first time because she accidentally found out about it on social media. She did not read the regulations clearly so she came empty-handed.

She went late in the day so the gardeners had run out of bottles and containers. So this girl decided to buy some and take them home.

Ms. Ngan likes the fresh vegetables here the most. Holding the papaya she just bought, she said it looked a bit small but very firm, the price was quite cheap, and the garden owner especially guaranteed that no chemicals were used but that the fruit grew naturally.

There are products that have to be measured in bottles and jars. This time she couldn't buy them, so Ms. Ngan asked for the garden owner's phone number to order next time.

“I find the shopping experience here quite special, the atmosphere is quiet and not as crowded as many other markets. Everyone is friendly, the food is all homemade and grown so I feel secure about the quality,” Ms. Ngan added.

Many sellers admit that products that do not use chemicals in growing and processing will not last long. Therefore, they always advise customers to use them quickly before they expire.

This is the last market this year organized by Mr. Huy, Ms. Phuong and many other garden owners. It is expected that by the beginning of the rainy season next year, when the trees bear fruit and fresh vegetables grow in the garden, everyone will meet again.

They will tell each other stories about gardens and crops in the middle of this bustling city.