Bread Basket

It was this past Monday at 6:00 a.m. I was standing out on the corner near my home trying to flag down a taxi. The pink colored Queen Restaurant is there, as well as the local outdoor cafe where the "Debriefing Session" of the TASOK (American School) teachers occurs. Neither the Queen, nor the cafe was open at that hour, but the Bread Depot, located in between the two, was. And it was like a bee hive. Hundreds of bagette orders that were divided into orange-colored milk crates were being picked up by women who then load them into a "sani ya momene," which Lingala for bread basket. The ends of the bagettes stick out the top. If it's raining, the women will cover the whole thing with plastic. They hoist their loaded baskets on their heads and walk for as long as they need to in order to sell their product. Usually they carry between 50 and 100 loaves, but some women have an especially long walk and will carry up to 200 loaves this way. Each loaf costs around twenty cents, so they are very accessible to most people. A huge company, Pain Victoire, has succeeded in controlling the entire bread market. Their delivery system is predictable and efficient. Virtually every Congolese lives on these bagettes, slathering them with mayonnaise or peanut butter or their own variety of fillings.

I'm sorry I do not have a photo of this system. I will try to get one tomorrow. I think I'll bring my night sentinel, Ndambele, with me to translate into Lingala. I'll also bring along a few Congolese francs to compensate the subjects of my photo for their trouble. Bon appetit!

By the way, I never did take a taxi. As I stood there, a Congolese woman drove up with three children in a red Taurus stationwagon and asked me if I needed a ride. When I told her I was going to the U.S. Embassy in town, she told me she was going to be going close to there to drop her kids off at school and she'd be happy to take me there. For no charge! I jumped at the chance and have ridden with her two more times this week. Her kids, ages 4,6 and 12 start school every day at 7:00 a.m. and in order to get them there on time she leaves the house at 6:00. I'll try to get a photo of them, too.