This Saturday, Make Sure To Buy Nothing From Medan Pasar!
We realized that The Star‘s five-year old piece on already used the “free lunch” adage so there went our opener. Still, prove the powers-that-be wrong by heading over to Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur on 28 November and buy nothing for the entire day.
That’s right; don’t buy anything on Saturday. You can get everything at Medan Pasar. Clothes, performances, food, workshops — all this and more are available for free or barter for one day only in Kuala Lumpur!
An international protest day against consumerism, Buy Nothing Day in Malaysia usually serves as a reminder of the consumerist glut we’re all in. Everything else we can possibly tell you about its origins is nicely pointed out in the aforementioned Star article (even the exciting bit about CNN) so check that out and we’ll move on to the next bit.
This is not a drill!
This year’s event has a number of things from legal aid to medical help on offer at no cost at all. Bored? Watch some comedy or poetry, free of charge! Hungry? There’s a community potluck as well as cooking demonstrations.
On our to-do list however is a visit to the Human Library. In the mobile library — which has human beings instead of books — reading consists of conversations with human books, or volunteers who represent groups or individuals at risk of discrimination and have participated in the library to provide first-hand accounts of their lives.
Deeming itself a “keep-it-simple, no-nonsense contribution to social cohesion in multicultural societies”, the Human Library will appear from noon onwards.
But top on our agenda? Barber Boon of NOTASALON will be giving out free haircuts!
Don’t let the shadowy, quizzical copywriting scare you away: this is not a performance art project. If you insist on a twist however, know that Ong Jo-lene (co-hosting this particular giveaway) will also be around.
“Boon is a professional hairdresser working in Bangsar,” she assures us, “but those who are a bit more adventurous can get a cut from me too.”
We’ll keep that in mine, Jo-lene.
But if you really, really must shop? Head over to the Really Free Market to get your fix and choose from selected wares. Alternatively, bring some of your own stuff and drop by the Swap Shop to swap music and books.
Our word limit has run out, and we haven’t even gone on to the free bicycle check-ups at the Bike Clinic courtesy of Velo Express or the ridiculous amount of free workshops which will teach you how to literally make stuff.
Make sure to inspect the event page on Facebook; skeptics are welcomed to ask away as Sarah Amer will be at hand to answer questions.
To participate in all this is easy: take an LRT to Masjid Jamek, situated just 200m away from Buy Nothing Day, and walk. Assuming you’re a Touch ‘n’ Go user, you could actually survive this upcoming Saturday without any cash at all.
Up for the challenge? See you guys at Dataran Medan Pasar!
Buy Nothing Day is brought to you by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur and ThinkCity in collaboration with labDNA and sponsored by Citi Foundation as part of an urban initiative to rejuvenate public spaces within KL Heritage & Cultural Precinct. Head over to Facebook for more information on .
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