A Trip to Market

After several months of working at grounds with the folks of our village, David finally got an opportunity to see how produce is sold in the big city of Paramaribo. This happened as a result of meticulous planning, detailed discussion and precise logistics (a meeting got moved and David was desperate for a ride on short notice). Late Sunday night, we loaded a van with dozens of 50 kilo sacks of ginger and pom tayer. There were many people loading items and weighing sacks (50 kilos with a hand held scale – don’t try this at home) and it was very unclear how they knew whose stuff was whose. This of course did not leave any room for passengers and barely enough room for the driver so another van with about ten of us hit the road at about midnight. This road is “under construction” so it doesn’t make for the smoothest of rides. Several times it looked like someone would be launched through the roof from taking the pot holes a little too fast. After about 2 and a half hours and with our internal organs adjusted to a slightly new orientation, we got to the big “wowoyo” or market. Apparently (and obviously if you think about it) we were not the only ones making this late night sojourn. The place was swarming with people. We unloaded our cargo, talked to a few people from surrounding villages and proceeded to wait for the buyers to show up at about 5:30 or 6 in the morning. The mystery of ownership of each sack of produce unraveled when David saw that each grower used a different color twine to sew their bags shut. Several folks slept in the van for a couple of hours and David tried this also but with little of the intended effect. Apparently the driver was very well known and popular and every time David almost nodded off, someone from outside the van would bang on the side of the door and shout his (the driver’s) name. He would talk with them for a few minutes and would be asleep again within 30 seconds of the end of the conversation. Clearly an acquired skill. After selling everything, which happened pretty quickly, everybody loads up and heads back to the village. Apparently this happens a couple of times a week and even happened before the road was built. Then everything got loaded onto boats first and then transferred to vans in Moengo.

We are now providing more English lessons in Moengo through a local non-profit organization there. It’s a great program that teaches skills for working in an office. English is just one module and the program includes improving their Dutch, learning internet skills and spreadsheet and word processing software. The program also tries to find work for the graduates in local offices at the end of the class. It’s been a lot of fun for both of us.