Vendors

Vendors are ubiquitous in Zimbabwe. Along streets, roads and footpaths, at bus stops and bus stations,standing in the middle of the road at intersections, they sell toys, airtime, newspapers, veggies, eggs, rope, ice cream, snacks, bags, fruit, clothing, belts, batteries, phones.... virtually anything you need. It's generally a low margin occupation, with long days spent breathing polluted city air and being harrassed by police and extorted by political factions, but with unemployment in Zimbabwe at somewhere north of 80% it's the only option for a great many people. An airtime vendor (selling $1 strips that will add airtime to a cell phone) pays 92 cents wholesale for each strip, and makes on average around $9 per day in Harare, although they can make more on a good day.

Municipal vendor stalls in Chinhoyi.

                               Selling mangos in Nyamhunga, Kariba.

Many people moonlight as vendors as well; during Zimbabwe's worst economic period around 2008, when teachers weren't paid for months at a time, one teacher told me she only managed to survive by travelling to South Africa and bringing back goods to sell. Below is a typical Zimbabwean story: my friend was getting his truck fixed by a mechanic friend; he couldn't pay him, but agreed to go and sell 2 tons of butternut squash, in 10 kg bags, that the mechanic received in payment from a farmer for repairs on a truck. My friend went around and set up by roadsides and in parking lots at the shops in various suburbs for days until the squash were gone; he and the mechanic split the profit.

                        Selling maize cobs (chibage) roasted on a home made braii.

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                                            At 4th St. kombi rank, Harare.

 These guys had staked out a spot at a police roadblock on the the main road from Harare to Mutare. Plenty of captive customers in the kombis and buses lined up along the side of the road, waiting while the drivers had their papers and vehicles inspected.

       

Tomato vendors along the Harare-Mutare Rd. - vendors selling similar items seem to group together; you'll pass 6 or 8 in a row selling mushrooms, or honey, or mangos.

                                            The 'shoe section' in Rusape.
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Monument vendors relaxing by their wares... if you need it, chances are you can find it on a street near you.