Matir Mela shows the way to simple, sustainable living

Most of us are familiar with homemade beauty fixes for problems like hair loss, dandruff and scars.

We have heard of the miracles of natural herbal goods used by our grandparents and people in rural areas with limited access to commercial market products.

What if you are told all of your everyday branded market products like shampoo, soap, gel, lotion and toothpaste could be replaced with natural stuff like gram flour, apple cider vinegar and pure coconut oil for which you need rely on big markets?

What if these natural goods were better for your hair, skin and health than those plastic-bottled, chemically tainted products we waste so much money on every month?

And what if they not only cost you far less but were also great for our planet too?

Saba Homaira Ahmad joined forces with Anusheh Anadil and the Jatra team to host a three-day sustainability fair from Feb 12-14 titled 'Matir Mela' at Jatra to showcase such locally accessible ingredients.

They sold them and demonstrated ways in which each of them could be incorporated into our daily cosmetic and other uses.

It also held puppet shows, talks, exhibitions, and workshops, topped off with musical performances by Arnob, Anusheh and many more.

The event promoted a lifestyle that makes smarter and greener choices in reducing our carbon footprint and use of the Earth's natural resources and finding alternatives that promise a better world for future generations.

According to Ahmad, "A simplified, mindful living rejects alien, overly processed substances from our environment and our body as they create complications in the process, while natural ingredients promote better health and longevity."

She is the author of the blog

http://sabahmad.com/2014/10/26/less-disposable-hair-and-body/

where you can read more about her transition to the use of natural products only, the many uses of these goods, and the positive affects they have had on hair, skin, and overall health.

Having read her blog, I now only need gram flour and apple cider vinegar to clean and condition my skin and hair.

It has been about three months since I have switched to using them instead of shampoos, conditioners, body-washes, shower gels and face-washes my bathroom shelves used to be earlier stacked with.

My sensitive skin and hair feels better and I have much less hair loss since the switch.

Here are the pictures of some of the products I bought from the fair taken from the event's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/770772799683627/

The pictures come with descriptions just like the products I bought from the fair which had tags explaining in details what each product can be used for.

Jatra also designed a handful of innovative products like stainless steel straws, recycled mason jars, foldable shopping bags and more for the fair, and they will be available at their store soon.

Jatra teamed up with several contributors like "Working for Better Bangladesh", "Kingba", "Prokriti", "Proshika", "Obhoyaronno", and "The Python Project" on a variety of the ventures promoted at the fair such as rooftop gardening, water filtration, sustainable animal guardianship, sustainable urban development and architecture, and rechargeable battery for hybrid car.

The festival also included an exhibition on the Sundarbans and the current oil spill crisis, aimed at inspiring people into thinking about the environment.

You don't need to be a tree-hugging hippie to switch to these natural ingredients - they are better for you, cheaper, simpler to use, and also help the planet.

So why not join the revolution and get rid of your 'poo' products (look it up on

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_poo)

today?

Isn't it about time we said 'no' to plastic-packaged, animal-tested, environmentally harmful products and go back to ancient, natural methods of staying healthy, clean and beautiful?

Why not give these natural ingredients a try and let us know whether you like using them?

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