Salcedo Community Market vendors in full bloom. 【Photo by Daniel Lazar】
Story Highlights
The re-opening of the Salcedo Market in Makati has given vendors back their livelihood and has returned a sense of community that residents and visitors missed during the lockdown.
Salcedo Community Market in Barangay Bel-Air Makati is back in action and is in its sixth week currently, since the lockdown in March at the start or the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). An important part of the Bel-Air community, Salcedo Market has brought back the joy and sense of community that many of the residents missed during the ECQ.
Now, to ensure the safety of both merchants and visitors alike, new precautionary measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of vendors, visitors and customers.
From taking of body temperatures at the entrance, mandatory wearing of masks to enter, and various other measures like acrylic screens and rope tied around stalls to enforce social distancing, Salcedo Market has taken the health and safety of their vendors and patrons very seriously.
One of the market’s organizers, Mia Villanueva, described the safety measures taken, how life at the market has been since re-opening post ECQ, and what the market means to the community.
“We have implemented strict social distancing measures, limiting the number of visitors inside the market and have also spaced vendors further apart than before. She also noted, “vendors who sell cooked food have acrylic shields to protect the food and rope around their stalls to prevent visitors from getting too close.”
“In addition, we limit the number of people who can enter to around 120-140, but despite this, the lineup outside moves pretty quickly. We have been successful in the past few weeks, our numbers are growing every week,” Ms. Villanueva said, “from the 60 vendors we started with when we first re-opened, we have grown to over 100.”
Ms. Villanueva also explained that more than anything, the market is an integral part of the community. “Apart from giving vendors back their businesses, as most are small home-based operations, our aim is to uplift people’s spirits by bringing back the sense of community which was missing during the ECQ. We all want a little pocket of happiness and joy during these times, when we feel that it’s very difficult already.”
Among the vendors you’ll find a variety of goods from fresh baked goods, vegetables and fruits, flowers, vegetarian cuisines and a host of other interesting items. Salcedo Community Market is located in Barangay Bel-Air, in the heart of Makati, and is open every Saturday morning from 7 AM to 2 PM.
