Market Day

Going to  village market is always much more fun than those in the city.  It is a smaller market, but it also means that I am generally walking around with a local friend – thus, I feel more free to take pictures as those there know my guide and offer permission without hesitation.

The village where I work has a village market on Sundays.  The market is located out about 8-10 km from the chief’s land and carries the name Kongou Gonga.  The first word, in Djarma, the word for a reed or stalk that is used to make covers for their gourd bowls (see picture below).  And the second word “Gonga”, means in Fulfulde, “truth”.  The chief’s son says that together, this means that this village site is the true location of where to find the stalks … or the village site with an inordinate amount of this plant.

This village market would be like a Walmart … a little bit of everything one might need:

• animals
• food …. staples and sauce ingredients
• pagne (cloth material] for sewing clothes
• veils
• household goods – batteries, electronics, soap etc…
• cell phone charging station
• food court

This market is somewhat centrally located in the village environ … most village sites and huts are within a 4-6 km walk of this marketplace.  As this market is just one day per week – food ingredients and household needs must be bought for the week – otherwise, one would need to walk 15-25 km into the capital to purchase what is needed …. or a 10-15 km walk to the Hamdallaye market (further out) – their market day is Tuesday. 

Animal Market:

This animal market is smaller than in the city – and mostly available here is sheep and goats.  I have yet to see a cow or donkey at this animal market.  In general, the animals are cheaper here in the village market than they are in the city.  Though, the further from the city (to other village markets) the cheaper the price will be.  The Fulani from my village, this year during the famine, are earning money for their families through two village market activities:

a) cokitaki … purchasing an animal in a village market and then reselling the animal in Niamey for profit

b) coggi … herding animals bought in the market to the owner’s home for profit

The Fulani are animal herders – mostly cows, but also sheep and goats – so they are well situated to use the knowledge and experience they have in the domain of animals as a way to feed their families now that their granaries are empty.

 

Food – Staples:

Most food in this market – and most of my villagers – will buy their staple food (millet, corn, rice] by the bowl.  Purchasing by the bowl brings the cost down to an affordable price per day or week – versus buying an entire 100kg sack … the price of which as a one time disbursement of money is beyond their means.

Right now – in the market, staple food is costing:

                                  per bowl                                                             per 100 kg sack

• millet:                         650 francs  ($ 1.51 Cdn)                                  24,000 francs ($ 55.94Cdn)
• corn:                          500 francs ($ 1.17 Cdn)                                    20,000 francs ($ 46.62 Cdn)
• rice (1kg):                  500 francs ($ 1.17 Cdn)                                    22,000 francs ($ 51.28 Cdn)

Though the main staple for the Fulani is millet – I have learned that this year, because their granaries are empty and the price of millet is sky-rocketing due to the famine, most of the villagers are eating corn three times per day. 

• breakfast: corn mush porridge with baobob leaf sauce
• lunch: corn couscous with onions and leaves
• supper: corn mush porridge with either baobob leaf or squash sauce

Food - Sauce Ingredients:

From what I’ve observed, most sauces contain some basic commonality: salt, oxo flavouring (mimido – the small yellow packets), oil, some sort of pepper flavour (either fresh, powder, or dried peppers fried in the oil), onions.  Then some sort of veggie can be added: tomato paste, squash, or leaves being the most common.  If it is a special meal, one might also add: carrots, potatoes, fresh tomatoes, potatoes, peanut butter.

Everything above being packaged in small portion sizes – opposite of Costco in Canada where we buy in bulk.  The villagers will buy in small portions – enough to last for a week or two as they portion it out.

 

Clothing:

Household Goods:

Sandals …. Laundry Soap (yellow packets) …. Soap:

Medicine – these bottles are filled with a tree sap that is used as medicine

One Stop Shop: sweet potatoes and jewelry

Household Goods – toothbrush (stick), string

Cell Phone Charging Station:

Where there is no electricity …. ingenuity flows!!  At the village market, everyone brings their cell phone to the cell phone charger – he has an old vehicle battery hooked up to jumper cables and multiple docking stations ready to go …. you leave your phone for a while and come back later.  There is an endless rotating line of phones waiting their turn!!

And – finally, what shopping mall is complete without a ….

Food Court:

My favourite street food is farimaasa …. a wheat flour donut fried in oil.  I eat mine with sugar, but mostly the Nigeriens will eat theirs with a hot sauce poured in the bag.  These are sold on almost every street corner in the city every day!  It makes a nice cheap breakfast – I can buy five for 125 francs ($0.30)!!

One question that I am asking during my Food Consumption Surveys that I am conducting this month, is to discover how many times per week a family will eat [xxxx] food.  In the village, as I ask how many times per week one might eat farimaasa – their response is “at the market” .,,, so basically, once per week!

~ photo credit and appreciation to visitor Joanne Beach for photos marked: JB