On a bright Sunday during the first week of this month, Namma Santhe - Navachetana Trust's first organic market, with 20 odd stalls selling vegetables and fruits, spice mixes, packaged health products, herbal plants, and eco friendly bags, attracted a mixed crowd. Middle class couples hoping for fresh produce and interesting pickles, a considerable number of the elite who had developed an interest in sustainable living, and the common man curious as to what the whole thing was about.

One could hear occasional grumbles about the setting - the grounds of a school in Vidyaranyapura in north Bangalore. When some visitors…