Cities and Markets

The Zambian cities, Kitwe in particular, are not quite what I expected. I don't know what I was expecting but this isn't it. You can tell that at one point the cities were much nicer than they are now. In Zambia, the development boomed in the middle of the 20th century, but when Zambia gained their independence and the price of copper dropped, development came to a halt. There has not been any new construction or re-modeling (that I can see) in Kitwe for 50 years. The buildings are falling apart, paint is faded and chipped, sidewalks in ruin, roads are almost impassable. Each year the government budgets for tax money to maintain the roads and clean up the cities but obviously that doesn't happen. Instead, the money ends up in someone's pockets and all of the people have to suffer. Due to this lack of support from the government, Kitwe is a crumbling city with over a million people, has a city centre of only 13 blocks, and is absolutely overflowing with people.

There are no street signs or numbered buildings ANYWHERE. Getting around by map is not an option. Even if you did have a map, most people don't know the name of any of the streets so it wouldn't help you. The best way to find your way somewhere is to ask the very friendly person walking by. They will point you in the general direction and you continue until you need to ask someone else. This is the way it's done. Even in residential areas, there are no posted house numbers. So, on electric bills and water bills, the address says "15 Chipungu Close, house with the green gate, past the orange pole". I find this highly hilarious but surprisingly effective.

Now in Zambia, the main grocery store is Shop Rite. There is one in each of the large towns. Only the very rich do their shopping at Shop Rite. The majority of people do all their shopping in the markets. I'm starting to do a combination of both. I get everything except fruits and vegetables at Shop Rite, and have finally found my way around the markets enough to get a fair price (as fair as a muzungu will get) for apples, cabbages, etc.

The black markets in Africa are totally hectic. In Kitwe, it is about the size of 6 city blocks with only a few entrances. It's a giant maze of shops made from any material the owner can get their hands on. The more permanent shops are metal boxes which look like small railroad cars. The other less permanent shops are made from pieces of wood that people have brought in from the bush, or torn potato sacks, or pieces of fiberglass constructed to make simple counters and roofs for shade. The marketeers will bring their goods from home every day and set up shop.

Things are organized, sort of. There is a general area for fruits and vegetables, fish, beans, caterpillars, used clothes, new clothes, hair salons, carpentry, etc. The shops are all situated around very narrow foot paths that are either dirt, rocks, or makeshift wooden bridges over drainage areas. Somehow the women manage to navigate these paths in 4 inch heels, I don't know how they do it. I can barely manage to make it out on two feet in flip flops.

Each area has its own noises and smells. Fruits and vegetables is at the entrance to the market and is very hectic and busy. Fish area is swarming with flies and smells horrible. Clothing area is a bit softer with women sitting amongst heaps and heaps of clothes, throwing things back and forth to each other whenever a customer requests a certain item or size. The salon area is full of women sitting around gossiping while they get their hair done for 6 hours.

The shop owners sit wherever they can find a seat and wait patiently for a customer. I'm sure that many of them will go days between customers but they still go and sit in the heat and the stench all day. You'll see them kill and pluck a chicken while they wait and even break out a brassiere (small bbq) to cook their lunch. Vendors are walking around selling socks, wallets, bites of sausages, meat pies, pirated movies... It can be really overwhelming.

I still don't really know my way around. I stick to the outskirts where the fruits and veggies are sold and don't go inside unless I'm with a friend. I have started to pay attention to who really knows their way around the market. Which of my friends should I go to if I need to find a nice chitenge for a fair-ish price. These friends can take me to exactly the right shop and negotiate the price without any hesitation. Now, if that friend is doing shopping for themselves I am not invited along. Even if I'm not the one buying, the shop owners see me and increase the price making it difficult if not impossible for my friend to get down to what they expect to pay.

I've realized that it's not easy being my friend in certain situations. Other than the increased prices, people say that it can be stressful to walk around with me. There is constant shouting, hassling, people following, trying to touch my skin or my hair. I'm lucky not to understand a lot of what they are saying but my friends say that they get insulted a lot. People asking if they are my body guard, how much is she paying you, etc. I'm just glad I've got good friends that still take me out and show me around.

Outside of the markets the shops are quite a bit different. They are usually very small and crowded and not very well labeled but if you ask enough people eventually you will find your way into a shop that has exactly what you're looking for. You have to check all of your bags at the door and someone will usually follow you around watching you like a hawk to avoid theft so shopping is not a very therapeutic activity.

Clothes or shoe shopping can be quite difficult. The shop owners will get their inventory from friends coming in and out of the country or will make a trip themselves. If anyone they know is going to South Africa or Thailand or wherever, they will ask to bring back some inventory. This means that what you see in the shop will likely only have one or two sizes, whatever they could shove into their suitcase. For the most part, even the very low quality items are very expensive because they have been imported from god knows where. Most people seem to get their clothes second hand or from whatever organization is handing out donated items. All of the clothes that are donated from people across the world really do make it into the hands of the needy here. I even saw a Cal Poly T-Shirt the other day!!

Restaurants are few and far between. There are some shops selling meat pies, sausages and chips, a place run by some Indians selling some curry and shawarmas, and a few restaurants hidden in the residential neighborhoods but if you are shopping in town and need to stop and sit down for lunch, you have very limited options. There are, however, hundreds of people walking around selling their homemade pies, samosas, chikanda (African bologna), fruit, sausages, none of which I trust to eat but most of the locals do.

Thank you Carola for a couple of these photos!

Clothing area at the market.








































This is in Kitwe. They got very upset with me for taking this picture. They think I will sell it to National Geographic and get rich off their photo. I wish...















Pirated movies galore. You can get a CD with 15 movies for about $1. Ya the quality is horrible but at least its entertainment!