Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Kabwata Cultural Centre

Buying and selling is one way to survive in Lusaka.

Buying and selling to tourists could be a lucrative activity when there are lots of tourists around. At Livingstone, a tourist mecca with Victoria Falls nearby, it was evident that the traders were doing it tough. Some of the accommodation places had laid off staff, and the street vendors would savage their own prices to try to make a sale. It is no different in Lusaka.



One tourist place in Lusaka is the Kabwata Cultural Centre. A visit there is at once interesting, frustrating, and worrying. Located not far from the city centre this village has been set up in a semi-traditional style, with lots of round huts and thatched rooves. There is no charge for entry, any the main purpose seems to be to sell locally made arts and crafts.

Wood carvings, batik materials, and baskets abound. Around the centre you can see men carving the sculptures or fashioning small animals out of wood. Under and around the shelters you can see the items for sale. With very basic tools they carve some amazing items. In the shelters are anything from one to five vendors (sometimes it seems like more) who want you to buy something from their stock.

Today we paid our second visit to the centre, and spent some of our money, but not enough to satisfy any of the traders. During the afternoon we spotted only one other 'mzungu' in the centre, and she was accompanied by a local guide or helper. From the time of our entry through the gate we only had to look at an item, and the bargaining started. When we entered some of the huts closest to the gate we were swamped with two, three or four people trying to get us to look at their items, and offering us prices which reduced rapidly as we looked at other items.

We bought some items for our family, but after an hour or more it was a little too much for me. Beth might have stayed for another hour if we knew that what we bought would be welcomed as gifts for family.

For people who depend on tourism the economic downturn has been tough - and it can only be hoped that the American summer holidays will bring a few more tourists with the resources to inject much needed funds into the Zambian economy.

Anyone interested in a small wooden carved elephant, rhino, giraffe, hippo or lion ?

Monday, May 4, 2009

To Market


Want to get to meet people? Then wander through the local markets.

On Saturday Beth and I went in search of the famed Soweto Market in Lusaka.

A minbus ride got us in there - and we were on our own. First to the Post Office to get some stamps...a mammoth task. Thirteen counters - but none of them wanted to sell us stamps (the queues for many of them were long - mainly processing moeny tranfers I think) and we were directed to a booth where the stmpaes were availaable and photcopies could be made. she didn't have the 1800 Kwacha stamps. Fifteen minutes later we were back there - buying 1000 Kwacha stamps. Two of them were more than enough to send the postcards, but she didn't have 1800 K stamps!!!!!!

Then it was off to find the market.


We found one - and wandered through the recently built aisles with neat stalls. Along the way I bought a hat from Gift, took photos of Gift and Nixon, chatted with Wawa (who sold DVD's), got hijacked by Frances (B35 & G14 - sells CD's), and talked with a few other sellers of electrical materials. The last guys were doing it tough, but Wawa (it means 'thank you') seems to be doing OK.
We discovered that Chachacha is a neat, well ordered market that has been built by a developer and is run by the city council. There is still work to do with the centre portion of the block which is not yet finished. The debate seems to be over more market stalls or a decorative feature. We were yet to find Soweto Market!

Moving right along we crossed Freedom Way and found another market -Manule.
There we met Oscar, and his friend Oscar, as well as Lazarus and Martin.
Martin repairs electrical and electronic equipment. He is an intelligent and articulate man who completed a certificate in electronics in 2003. Where did he get his qualifications? He completed the course via correspondence from London. It was good to share with him about life in Zambia (and Africa in general).
Manule apparently means something like 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'. Manule Market is a group of rough tin sheds, cramped into a smallish space, but offering a chance for people to have a semi-permanent place from which to trade.

We emerged from Manule, still looking for Soweto Market, but found we were alongside Lusaka City Market. This vast undercover market has a different feel to Chachacha and Manule. It has a high roof that covers the area, space for mini-buses to pick up and drop passengers, and some sit down eateries near the entrance. Inside it was a bustling array of aisles and stalls. Before entering the arena we bought some fritters (the donut mixture again) and sampled some African bologne. Josephine was a little shy, but Moses (her trading neighbour) was not.

By the time we had wandered through a couple of aisles it was time to head home - and we still haven't got to Soweto Market yet.

Before catching the minibus home we walked across the overpass, and looked down along the rail liine near Kabwata. What did we see? More stalls, this time without the formal organisation that was evident in the city, but still people trying to eke out a living by honest means in a city where work is not always easy to get. If you can't work, you trade; if you can't trade you rely on your family; if they cannot support you the opitons are limited - beg, scrounge, or steal. Somehow you have to survive.

During three conversations during the day - with Martin, Moses and the electrical sellers - it was pointed out that many in Zambia live on less than a dollar a day, and more on under two dollars a day. "Please let others know that life is hard for us" they said. Anyone who spends any time talking to people on the street here would know that for so many it is a struggle to survive. It is hardest in the cities where there is no space to plant a crop and grow some food for yourself.

For anyone who is thinking about a visit to Africa - come! If it does nothing else it will open your eyes - and at the same time will put some money into the countries that you visit.

Think you've got it tough? If you have access to a computer and can read this, you're doing pretty well, and it is time to think a little more about sharing what you've got with others.

Chobe - Game Park Experience


Another international border was crossed on our way to the game park at Chobe in Botswana. This time the border was a river, and we crossed in a speedboat. Trucks and cars had to cross by ferry - and the 100 or so semi-trailers lined up at the crossing point provided a guard of honour as we drove towards the river.

By 9.45 am we were on a boat cruise down the Chobe river, a tributary of the Zambesi. For the next three hours we spotted elephants, water buffalo, impala, hippopotamii, fish eagles, birds, crocodiles, as well as other birds of animals that approached the water.

Back to the resort for lunch, and then for the game drive in the afternoon.

Between the lodge and the land entrance to the park we had to stop and wait for a herd of elephants to cross the highway. There were no signs to warn us...but we did see them coming.

Once in the park we spotted warthogs (delightful looking creatures), impala, elephants, water buffalo, elephants, giraffe, elephants, blue crested roller birds, elephants, mongoose, elephants, kudu, elephants, sable antelope, elephants and some more elephants. We also spotted some more giraffes, a few monkeys, and a dung beetle happily working its way through the stuff left behind by the elephants. It was not the only thing picking through the piles of poop either.

Late in the afternoon about five safari vehicles converged on a lion and lioness. With tourists gawking and cameras clicking the lion was not especially amused, but didn't seem annoyed either. His attention was on the lioness. They had no privacy, and she sought escape. The lion was not going to let her out of his sight. He followed her, and the vehicles tried to follow them both. The animals won in the end, finding a spot further from the track where the vehicles would not go. We were unable to determine if the lion had his way with the female, or if she kept resisting his advances.

Whether the lion was satisfied or not we were. Our day at Chobe had been money well spent - and provided us with memories and images that are unforgettable.

Drenched - and delighted

Two things on our MUST SEE list in Africa - Victoria Falls and a game park.

In three days we did them both - and experienced a robbery as well.

We left Chikankata early in the morning and arrived at Livingstone early afternoon. Our place to stay "WILLMA GUEST HOUSE - Haven of Peace". Beth had thoughts of childhood, I wondered if they had misnamed the place. How can place that carries your mother-in-law's name be a haven of peace? (Sorry Wilma!)

For about 3 hours that afternoon we wandered around Victoria Falls - absolutely amazing and spectacular. Paul and Sarah had visited in a September, and were a little disappointed with the amount of water flowing over the falls. We visited just after the wet, and could not see the falls from Knife Edge Bridge, less that 50 metres in front of the falls. There was too much spray coming up from the bottom - 108 metres below us. Two ponchos were needed to keep you sort of dry as you crossed the bridge. We ended up very wet, but it was worth it.

Later that day we sat for an hour in the police station at Livingstone reporting a theft. Pictures of the falls at dusk are great and we stopped on our way back to town for a different view. These snaps were expensive as four bags were very quickly stolen from an unattended car. How long did it take? We reckon that less that two minutes from stepping out of the car to spotting the thieves at far side of the vehicle. We would have been within about 10-15 metres at the time. The chase was on, but age and local knowledge were on their side.
We should have known better, but it was a brief stop for some picture taking, and we were not as careful as was needed. At the police station the first comment was "That is a bad area for thieves!". We know!

As for the pics, there are lots....but when I can get a few more to upload they will appear.