The tribulations of an itinerant vendor

For the last seven years, Aline Nyirahabimana, 30, has been operating a door to door client search business. Although it is the way she has managed to provide for her family, she says it has and it is still a hard experience. She says she manages to cater for the needs of her family, by hawking fruits like sweet bananas by moving from place to place looking for customers and in the taxi parks and other busy areas. The single parent and mother of two, spends most of the day walking around Giporoso in Remera in search for clients.She however complains that the time she wakes up to go for business is one of her hardest life experience. “By 5.00a.m, I must be at the road to get a taxi to Kabuga where my trade originates with many other women I work with. It’s where we buy these fruits at a relatively cheap price.” she says. Although her target is to at least start a permanent retail fruit shop, it has always been hard for her to save enough money given the fact that her many needs and expenses clear all her income. “Being a single parent, I have to deal with each and every responsibility in my home. And if business is favourable, I earn about Rwf 3000 a day. But being that some days are not as good as others in business, I at times earn less but expenses remain constant in a home,” she explains. Just like any hard working and focused worker, Nyirahabimana draws a plan for her daily work although she may at times fall to accomplish some tasks. “My target for each day is to make sure that I walk all around my renowned customers to see that I sale off what I have in my basket. This gives me a clear line to work the next day,” she reveals. Although the Nyirahabimana has no fixed capital to determine the costs of starting or staying safe in business, she makes sure that she has at least Rwf 10,000 before setting off for a business trip. “Like in any other business, capital depends on the market price of a given time. There are times when prices rise and fall, and this determines my purchasing power each day.” It is through such price changes that she also decides on how much to charge for her goods. She says that she charges between Rwf 50 or three small bananas at a cost Rwf 100 but also depending on the size, big or small. “Although I may go as late as 7p.m, my target is to end work at 6p.m since I have to wake up very early the next day,” she says. Ends

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The tribulations of an itinerant vendor