Kokan Bhumi Pratishthan’s ‘The Mango Fleea’ brings 350 farmers from Alphonso growing clusters from Konkan to the malls in Mumbai

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, April 2022:  The Global Kokan mango festival, the flagship initiative of the Kokan Bhumi Pratishthan is back in a bigger avatar after a 2-year hiatus. The Global Kokan Mango festival has always brought new dimensions to the promotion of Alphonso mangoes and supporting Kokan mango growers be it for the campaign of the GI tagging of Alphonso mangoes, or a mobile app to get farm-fresh mangoes to homes or to take the consumer on a journey to the farm from where the box of mangoes have been picked.

This year, Global Kokan is truly celebrating Alphonso Mango (Hapus Aamba), the King of fruits by announcing two mega initiatives with ‘Global Kokan Shetkari Aamba Bazaar’ and ‘The Mango Fleea’. The Mango Fleea brings Kokan’s ‘Alphonso’ mango and 350 farmers from mango growing clusters from Maharashtra to the malls in Mumbai by bringing the best quality and original Alphonso mangoes to the HNI’s & Mumbaikars. The mango clusters & farmer cooperative societies from Ratnagiri, Devgad, Sindhudurg, and more are participating in this robust campaign. The Global Kokan initiative has special guidance from Shri Ajit Pawar (Dy Chief Minister – Maharashtra), Shri Balasaheb Patil (Co-Operation & Marketing Minister – Maharashtra) and Shri Dadaji Bhuse (Agriculture Minister- Maharashtra)

The ‘Global Kokan Shetkari Aamba Bazaar’ will be a statewide celebration across 10 districts where nearly 200 stalls will be put up across various parts of Maharashtra.  Both the initiatives together are all set to empower 1000 farmers all over the Konkan region.

The Mango Fleea hosted in collaboration with I Leaf Connects are a series of pop-up flea markets which is held at Korum Mall (Thane), R City Mall (Ghatkoper), Phoenix Palladium Mall (Lower Parel), and Seawoods Central (Navi Mumbai) from 22nd April 2022 to 15th May 2022. The Mango Fleea will bring a mix of Mango bazaar, Mango Café, and live entertainment to the shoppers visiting these locations. The flea market will provide access to produce which will be sold directly by farmers and the market also will create a vibrant space for community engagement. The Mango Fleea will see a unique concept of Mango Café, which will have Salsa and salads to main courses to desserts all made from mango. The specially curated menu is the brainchild of celebrity Chef Sunny Pawaskar, who is the Co-owner of “Regional Foods” which specializes in regional cuisine. Various arts, artifacts, and other products from the Konkan region will be also on display at these venues.

Shri. Pratiesh Ambekar, Founder & Director ILeaf Cconnects, added, “With the Mango Fleea, our aim is to bring the original Alphonso mangoes to the consumers who visit malls. We are changing the format of a traditional mango festival and giving it a more modern experience. We are creating an atmosphere with food and entertainment which will give a small taste of the diversity of the Konkan and its wide range of authentic Konkan Alphonso mangoes.”

The ‘Global Kokan Shetkari Aamba Bazaar’ will see Mango cultivators from Devgad, Ratnagiri, Rajapur, and more getting direct access to buyers on various major highways like Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Nagpur, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai-Gujarat, etc. The highway bazaar’s on Mumbai – Ahmedabad and Mumbai – Nashik will be set up by Samruddha Kokan Shetkari Sangathana and Shri. Nilesh Sambre and Jijau Foundation along with various Mahila Bachat Gaat to give a platform for mango farmers for direct selling to consumers.

Shri Sanjay Yadavrao Founder of Global Kokan and Kokan Bhumi Pratisthan shared, “Kokan Bhumi Pratisthan and Global Kokan have been working for the last 20 years for the benefit of farmers in the Konkan region. This year with the Global Kokan Shetkari Aamba Bazaar we are ensuring the mango cultivators get the platform to sell their mangoes direct to the consumers and to give them the popularity they deserve. This will ensure that the consumers get only the best and original mangoes from the region.”

The ‘Global Kokan Shetkari Aamba Bazaar’ is also scheduled to be held in the cities of London in England and Amsterdam in the Netherlands in May. “This is an attempt to spread the popularity of Kokan Alphonso mangoes and individual mango grower brands from Konkan on a worldwide scale. With this we also tend to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship since generations from the Konkan region globally”, Mr. Yadavrao further adds. 

This initiative has been continually supported by MSMBA and APEDA.