Taking Care of Business

Kenema gives new meaning to microeconomics.  The most micro of micro-businesses are practiced here as people try to earn $2.00 a day which is the average that most live on.   As I leave the gates of the school grounds, the first business I encounter on Combema Road deals strictly in photocopies at 7 cents/page.  Across the street a woman is sitting next to the road with a large plastic bowl of peanuts and banana chips in small plastic bags (about 10 cents each).  Next to her is the popcorn man with his small machine under an umbrella.  On Sundays he makes my favorite, kettle corn. A few steps farther from him I encounter my friend the bread man.  He sells only baguettes while the young lady next to him sells only large rolls kept in small glass cases.  On his other side someone is always grilling meat skewers to entice the school kids passing by on their way to or from school at noon. Ann's favorite street side seller is the "Goodwill Outlet" which is a piece of plastic put on the ground in the next block.  The woman who runs this has ever changing offerings: socks, three ring binders, used silverware, baby clothes, Tupperware, belts, stuffed animals, winter hats!, and once a jigsaw puzzle and a Clue game.

Turning right on Sumaila Street  I find some cocoa beans laid out to dry.   They give off a faint vinegar odor.  Daniel, a young German who works for an agricultural NGO, explained to us that when the cocoa beans are extracted from their pods, they are heaped into piles for seven days to ferment naturally in the sun.  The fermentation process produces the acidic aroma.  Beginning in late September, we have seen many tarps with drying cocoa beans on Hangha Road where the big businesses are located.  Continuing down Sumaila I pass a DVD sales hut, which always has a crowd of young people because the owner has a small generator hooked up to a video player and has some show running. It reminds me of the days of Mr. Movies.   There are several of these stalls scattered throughout town.  A bit farther down is an entertainment hut where for a small price people can play a video game.  Another kind of entertainment hut shows live soccer from England.  On Saturdays and Sundays, Salone men can be just like their counterparts in the States and watch football all afternoon long, except, instead of the Fighting Irish vs the Crimson Tide or Vikings/Packers, it will be Manchester vs Arsenal or Leeds vs Chelsea.

Turning up Jenneh Street I pass by one of the local markets.  We buy all of our produce at these outdoor stands.  Produce is not sold in the two town supermarkets.  Aside from the normal fruits and vegetables there is always  dried fish and peanut butter sold in little third cup portions.  We have been mixing this “natural” stuff with the sweeter store-bought product though the SLonese use it in almost all of the sauces they make to go on rice. Just after the market is a tailor.  The city is filled with these one-man operations and all the machines are treadle run, no electricity involved.  New and used clothes can be purchased around town, but the tailors always seem to be busy. A nice African shirt for Ann would cost $7 to make (we supply the cloth). A barber shop is next; plenty of these in town also.  Just a few steps away iron workers are pounding out recycled  metal to make various objects.  The most prominent item is a small charcoal brazier that is coated with aluminum from melted recycled cans. These are the main heat sources for cooking.  Jenneh Street ends with at least thirty small stalls of men engaged in the art of motorcycle maintenance.  There must be some synergy from all the repair shops being in one place.  In another part of the city a similar row of car repair places form a grand Gasoline Alley.  The House of Pain restaurant sits opposite the motorcycle repair shops.  I have not ventured there for a meal yet.  Next to it is an ataya base stall.  Ataya is a strong tea that one PCV I know says gives a jolt of caffeine comparable to a Starbuck’s double expresso.  Men will sit at these small huts sipping their small cups of tea discussing local affairs just like the old codgers in River Falls on free coffee day at Family Fresh.

I take a right onto Humonya Street heading directly toward the center of the city now.  Humonya has the distinction of being the only street in Kenema with sidewalks.  These are elevated above the road and are lined with small permanent stalls of people selling a vast array of goods.  The mini-stores remind me a bit of the book-selling stalls along the Seine in Paris.  I pass places that sell only: school supplies, hardware, sandals, watches, flashlights, baseball caps, towels, stationary, bras, hair products and prayer mats (strategically located near the entrance of the central mosque). Peeking through the stalls on my left I see the city lumberyard.  I hear the ripping of 2 x 10 boards in progress.  A machine does this, but I have seen a single man with a handsaw doing the same thing.  Talk about hard labor! 

One business we don’t see in the U.S. is a cell phone “top-off” kiosk.  These are everywhere.  For a small fee I can add minutes to my Peace Corps issued cell phone.  These places can also recharge a phone for seven cents for people who don’t have access to electricity. Finally, I can’t leave out all of the traveling salespeople.  Many of these sellers carry their product on top of their heads. I have seen all sorts of things balanced expertly on top of spines ramrod straight: bowls of bananas, oranges, cucumbers, fish sandwiches, cleaning goods, shampoos, flip flops …..  The most remarkable to me are ones with dozens of eggs riding up high.  Eggs are transported in 30-egg flats.  I have seen up to six stacked layers, the transporter seemingly unconcerned that one misstep could lead to an 180,000 leones loss.