‘Make in Nagaland’ – The soul of The Makers Market

Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 28  

The Makers Market on Saturday productively assembled the finest food, drink, arts and crafts-all locally made or created. In the picturesque setting of Aiko Greens, located at H.K Khulu Road, Dimapur, it was a sunny and fruitful day for visitors and sellers alike.  

Bringing together a good mix of maker’s community from Nagaland, the market had some truly talented artisans and local producers displaying their produce. The event was initiated by NE Buzz and Zatara Pvt Ltd, both homegrown start-ups.

“Finally a platform that everyone needs,” exclaimed M. Kire of Kharu Design who had a stall to showcase his furniture and crafts. He was practical enough to state that if one look at the revenue, it may not be much. “But people are coming here to explore and getting to know what we can do and what we can provide as makers. So this is the way to go forward,” he said.  

Tasang Imchen shared the same sentiment. As a maker specializing in a special kind of craftwork called ‘decoupage,’ Imchen had been excited to be part of the event and to witness the creativity of other fellow Nagas. “This should be a regular event. It is a benefit to the entrepreneurs,” she said.  

Bambi Kevichusa, designer and owner of ‘Windfall’ summed the significance of the event perfectly, “It’s a big encouragement to us to manufacture more. It’s so beautiful to walk around here, everything is made in Nagaland. I wish we had more events like this.”  

Bakers like Pastor Bryan, Iliang Haralu, Pito Kiba, Anen Imti meanwhile were swamped with sales. Their delicious cupcakes, cookies and patisseries were a crowd puller. Visitors also got the chance to discover the flavors of Nagaland with Muffets Pantry, High Noon, Ethnic Table, Smokey Joe’s, Not Just Biryani and many more stalls putting up arrays of delicious food.  

With local marketing and sales still at a nascent stage in Nagaland, the event came as the perfect opportunity for people to discover what local producers have to offer. Brands like Amonar Tea, Lija-U, Angry Mother Soap Co, Homescape and designers like Liyingbeni, Precious Me Love, J & Sasha, Ikali Studio, Leejen were seen interacting with the local crowd.

Speaking to The Morung Express, a representative from NE Buzz said the team is already planning to host more events.  

“We have plans to create a better and bigger space for Maker’s Market. Meanwhile, as far as the agriculture community is concerned, Zatara Pvt Ltd is also keen to include the farmers’ community thus creating a bigger platform in the Makers Market.”  

Sundown as the stall owners started to pack up and rolled up their tents, weary but satisfied shoppers stayed back to enjoy the “Rough Road Sessions” an evening of good music and food, before heading home with their bag of goodies with the tags ‘Made in Nagaland.’