One Planet Market

Small community markets are a great way for locals to get to know each other and to purchase goods made or grown near to their homes.  One such market in Adelaide's eastern suburbs is the One Planet Market organised by members of Sustainable Communities SA.

The market is held from 9am – 12 noon on the third Saturday of each month at Payneham Community Centre, 374 Payneham Road (cnr Arthur St), Payneham.

A unique feature of the One Planet Market is that while some goods are for sale, other items can be swapped, taken for free, or traded using the LETS economy.

Today's market demonstrated this diverse mix beautifully with the following stalls and stallholders:

• Salma, selling home-cooked traditional Greek food
• Fifth Creek, a small commercial producer of seasonal produce, fresh flowers and preserves.  The owners of Fifth Creek have an orchard at Montacute
• Marika, selling preserves, kasundi sauce, plants, and seasonal produce
• Julie, owner of an orchard at Lenswood, who sells apples in season, flowers, plants and seedlings
• A 'buy and sell' stall for those with perhaps only a few items who don't want a stall of their own.  Items on sale today included organic sourdough bread, honey, olive oil, eggs, plants and garden produce
• A freecycle stall where goods such as books could be donated and others taken for free.  
• A swap-and-share table for home-grown produce
• a LETS stall
• A local native plants stall, run by the Friends of St Peters Billabong.  All plants at this stall are free and the stallholders provide planting and care instructions
• A tea and coffee stall selling home made cakes and biscuits.  The baked cheesecake looked delicious.

Each month a workshop is held from 10.30-11.15am on topics such as solar cookers, making soap, worm-farming and bicycle maintenance.

I encourage you, if you are an Adelaide east-side local, to attend the One Planet Market if you have the opportunity.