Comments on: As seen on the streets of Accra http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/2009/10/20/as-seen-on-the-streets-of-accra/ The Caribbean's first podcast - almost live from Trinidad and Tobago! Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:56:00 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Georgia http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/2009/10/20/as-seen-on-the-streets-of-accra/comment-page-1/#comment-1293948 Georgia Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:51:02 +0000 http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/?p=995#comment-1293948 EthanZ - I encountered a number of long-distance bus provisioners while waiting at Kaneshie Market for our Ford van to Cape Coast to fill up, but I guess the on-board variety doesn't ride the vans. I remember running into swarms of small-town street vendors in Madagascar during a 9-hour minibus ride from Tamatave to Antananarivo. They time the buses pretty precisely, and the towns the buses pass through around mealtimes are the winners here, since this furnishes an excuse for the buses (obviously in joyous collusion with the whole plan) to stop for 45 minutes or so to allow the passengers to grab lunch or dinner. I'm fascinated by informal economies, not least because I live in a country where such things have an impact on the overall economy, but it really was the sheer range of items available on the streets of Accra that fascinated me. Trinidadian street entrepreneurs tend to stick with a pretty narrow range of wares, and most of them aren't all that compelling. Of course it's also a question of scale, as Trinidad is a fraction of the size of Ghana. But how many steering wheel covers can a person really expect to sell? EthanZ – I encountered a number of long-distance bus provisioners while waiting at Kaneshie Market for our Ford van to Cape Coast to fill up, but I guess the on-board variety doesn’t ride the vans.

I remember running into swarms of small-town street vendors in Madagascar during a 9-hour minibus ride from Tamatave to Antananarivo. They time the buses pretty precisely, and the towns the buses pass through around mealtimes are the winners here, since this furnishes an excuse for the buses (obviously in joyous collusion with the whole plan) to stop for 45 minutes or so to allow the passengers to grab lunch or dinner.

I’m fascinated by informal economies, not least because I live in a country where such things have an impact on the overall economy, but it really was the sheer range of items available on the streets of Accra that fascinated me. Trinidadian street entrepreneurs tend to stick with a pretty narrow range of wares, and most of them aren’t all that compelling. Of course it’s also a question of scale, as Trinidad is a fraction of the size of Ghana. But how many steering wheel covers can a person really expect to sell?

]]> By: EthanZ http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/2009/10/20/as-seen-on-the-streets-of-accra/comment-page-1/#comment-1293859 EthanZ Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:23:10 +0000 http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/?p=995#comment-1293859 Georgia, there's a whole other class of street vendors focused on long-distance bus trips. When you're waiting for the bus to fill, the vendors focus mostly on food for the journey (hard-boiled eggs, biscuits, fruit, ice water) and comfort items (handkerchiefs, battery-powered fans). Once the bus is underway, it becomes clear that another set of vendors are aboard to provide entertainment - one sells inexpensive books, another patent medicine. And there's almost invariably an itinerant preacher, who asks for the bus to be "bathed in the blood of Jesus", always a nice metaphor when you're merging onto some of the world's most dangerous roads. They ride along until the first major bus stop, where they exit and look for another bus coming into the city where they can offer books for the kids and blessings on arrival. My favorite are the vendors who stop buses as they pass through small towns, selling the local specialty. You may have been waiting for water for hours, but if that town sells black earthenware bowls for crushing tomatoes, that's what you're getting... from hundreds of competing vendors. Some day we'll be able to make real-time Google map mashups showing precisely how many people in different parts of Accra are selling Fan Ice. That's a good use of technology, right? Georgia, there’s a whole other class of street vendors focused on long-distance bus trips. When you’re waiting for the bus to fill, the vendors focus mostly on food for the journey (hard-boiled eggs, biscuits, fruit, ice water) and comfort items (handkerchiefs, battery-powered fans). Once the bus is underway, it becomes clear that another set of vendors are aboard to provide entertainment – one sells inexpensive books, another patent medicine. And there’s almost invariably an itinerant preacher, who asks for the bus to be “bathed in the blood of Jesus”, always a nice metaphor when you’re merging onto some of the world’s most dangerous roads. They ride along until the first major bus stop, where they exit and look for another bus coming into the city where they can offer books for the kids and blessings on arrival.

My favorite are the vendors who stop buses as they pass through small towns, selling the local specialty. You may have been waiting for water for hours, but if that town sells black earthenware bowls for crushing tomatoes, that’s what you’re getting… from hundreds of competing vendors.

Some day we’ll be able to make real-time Google map mashups showing precisely how many people in different parts of Accra are selling Fan Ice. That’s a good use of technology, right?

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