Market in Kibungo

Wednesday and Saturdays are the market days in Kibungo where many small-scale farmers bring their produce to sell in the market. This market reminded me of the Kalimati market in Kathmandu and reminisced the days when my dad and I would go shopping for fruits and vegetables on Saturdays. The market in Kibungo was not just fruits and vegetables –it ranged from clothing items to cooking utensils. The smell of anchovies flashed memories of that one area in the Kalimati market where there was just various types of dried fish.

As we walked through the market, all the vendors called for the mzungu’s to come buy their products from them. The fruits that were available at the market included: big juicy pineapples, tree tomatoes, passion fruit, papaya, bananas, oranges and avocado. The vegetables that were available included: green tomatoes, red tomatoes, celery, cilantro, chilli peppers, carrots, onions, eggplant and beans. It felt good to buy fruits and veggies that were in season because in Canada, we are so used to seeing strawberries and avocado all year round which are shipped from Mexico and California. I was not only satisfied with the taste (fruits and veggies taste so much fresher and flavorful) but I was happy to be supporting the local farmers and their families of Kibungo who worked very hard to grow and carry their produce all the way to town.

                      

The produce was usually sold in buckets and small divided piles which were usually between 100-200 RWF ($1=~600 RWF). The produce are usually put into brown paper bags instead of plastic bags (even before Vancouver!). Molly, Mona, Kristina and I ended up buying a lot of tree tomatoes, passion fruits and mangoes. We were pretty tired of eating the same buffet for two weeks twice a day (which consisted of rice, beans, ebitoke, and goat meet) and cost us 1900 RWF/meal (around $3). We would also fill our plates and would want to crash right after that big meal cancelling our 1 hour of INSANITY workout at 6 am. Being the nutrition students, we bought lots of veggies at the market and decided to make salad for dinner which was delicious. Green peppers, carrots, beans, tomatoes and avocado with salt, lime and vinegar drizzled on top.  Fabien, the receptionist at St. Joseph’s, however did not enjoy the salad. He was polite and asked us if any of us wanted anymore. Eating raw vegetables is definitely not part of the Rwandan diet and he probably wondered why these mzungu’s are eating raw vegetables for dinner.