April is all about where we go to buy the things we need in our homes in the villages where we are hosted. Many of these villages are not sufficiently large to support stores to provide food, phone credit, cloth, and other necessities for our homes. Many of us make weekly, or bi-monthly, journeys to our market towns to purchase these types of items. Next month's blog will feature what we buy; this month's blog features where we go to buy these things!
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H.K.: “This is the market town community members [near me] frequent. It is located in Lawra. There are piles of used clothes that come from other part of the world and are sold cheaply by locals. The big criticism about the piles of clothes is that it has taken away opportunities for locals to have their own clothing businesses, reinforcing dependency on external sources.” |
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Grant L.: “Nandom. The road will be finished ‘very soon.’” |
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Dean S.: “The market [Nandom] before it opens on a Sunday.” |
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Spence W.: “Saboba is a small town of good food, good people, and good drink. Stop by the egg sandwich place on your way to the market.” |
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Charlotte C.: “My market town is the largest day market in West Africa! I’m lucky to be able to get a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year, though I’m not always sure what they will have in stock. Here is my friend and favorite vegetable maame. On the day of this picture, she had thee rare items: green beans, mint, and cilantro. I told her that I wanted to remember how happy she was making me forever and asked to snap a picture – she thought the idea was hilarious.” |
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Brenda G.: “Sister Happy has the best local spot, as well as being a cousin of my counterpart, so I really feel like I have a ‘local sister’ in her. Many market days I go refresh myself after shopping. At the end of a journey, I go there to wait for my ride back to my village. If you come visit, unless you take Joe’s tro [a vehicle for public transportation like a van] from Accra, you too will have the pleasure of meeting her.” |
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Brenda G.: “My market town is a regional ‘Farmer’s Market’ so it is big, colorful and a crazy maze. I find it easier of find my way around Ho’s market [another near by city] and I don’t shop [in this market] all that often.” |
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Ms. B: “There are several markets in my town but most often I go to the one under the umbrellas in this pic. She has most of the things I need and always greets me with a smile.” |
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Brittany J.: “These women have a calm state of mind. Equilibrium.” |
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Kyle L.: “I usually only go to Nsawam, the major market town nearest to the village hosting me, when I need to buy brᴐdᴐ (bread) because I can buy it fresh, ‘in bulk,’ and store it in the fridge in my house (when I have power!). Otherwise, I just purchase the small small food items I need around the village. Nsawam is BIG and BUSY (as you can see above), and around a 45 minute tro ride (on a VERY bumpy road) from the village where I live and teach, so I try to only go when I really must.” |
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Stephanie R.: “My CP’s [counterpart’s] daughter introduced me to her [the trader in the picture] during my site visit…I never really know her name, but I mostly buy [from] her mostly because she has a lot of potatoes. J” |
