'Tis the season!
A close friend from Melbourne informed me of big purchase
he recently made. I won’t mention the actual figures, but the words ‘extend’
and ‘mortgage’ were used and the price tag made me gasp. Keep in mind though,
he made this purchase for his daughter, and it is almost Xmas, so we shouldn’t
be too judgmental. He of course bought a mango.
Inner city Melbourne has its boutique organic green grocers, home delivered vegie boxes and the mandatory big supermarket chains stocking fruit with plenty of food miles. Lusaka is actually not too dissimilar…except for the mango prices….but we’ll get to that later.
It seems that having ‘a farm’ is pretty common here. Whether
that be a small plot big enough for some vegetables (usually at least maize), a
bigger enterprise employing farmhands (usually including maize) or a hobby farm
on the outskirts of Lusaka for those with the kwatcha, again often with maize. I
have the impression that many people rely quite heavily on a good maize crop. If
the rains don’t come at the right time, or for instance if your wife is in
hospital with a neurological illness and you’re not at home to plant, then your
maize and income can suffer. I’d love to comment more on the role of maize in
Zambia - and the ubiquitous carb nshima,
made from ground maize, that fills out every meal - but I’m not really informed
enough yet to do it justice.
It seems that most produce grown in Zambia finds its way
to Lusaka, while anything that can’t be grown gets trucked in from South
Africa. The Tuesday morning market, at the Anglican church on Burma Rd near the
hospital is a great way to see the range of fruit and vegie on offer. After working
out the right amount to pay someone to help carry some bags (it’s a complex situation
and I spoke to a few locals before working out a good strategy), Frankie and I
have made some enjoyable trips to replenish our supplies.
‘Food Lovers Market’ is a South African fruit/veg chain found in many of the shopping malls. While it stocks a large range of produce, some locally grown, the shopping experience is less colourful than the market and you’ll need to push your own trolley. Although it is a lot easier to shop here than the cheaper markets, the experience is not as rewarding (not just for me). This week a large green and red variety of mango was 10K (1.30 AUD).
‘Food Lovers Market’ is a South African fruit/veg chain found in many of the shopping malls. While it stocks a large range of produce, some locally grown, the shopping experience is less colourful than the market and you’ll need to push your own trolley. Although it is a lot easier to shop here than the cheaper markets, the experience is not as rewarding (not just for me). This week a large green and red variety of mango was 10K (1.30 AUD).
Lately we’ve come to do a lot of our fruit shopping with ‘fruit
guy’, as Frankie calls him. He has a conveniently located stall on our route to
school, right where there is often a bank up of traffic, and as with many
purchases here you don’t even need to leave the car. Given my frequent trips to
Alliance Francais, we often have ample opportunity to sample his wares. Bananas
are a staple (1K each) and in addition to some South African apples there are often
local pineapples, papayas, watermelons and yes, mangos. The small, slightly stringy,
but deliciously sweet mangoes from Central Province are now in season. A bag of
10 will set you back…wait for it….10K (that’s 13c each).
Mangoes and peanuts up the road from our place
Oh, it's a peanut
'Fruit guy's' stall
Close up of 'Fruit guy's' stall
We also opportunistically came across a vegie box service
operated through a local kids centre with produce from a farm outside of
Lusaka. So hopefully we can keep our Food Lovers trips to a minimum.
Mangoes with our cottage in the background
Comments
Post a Comment