By the Each

There are a lot of things in Tanzania...and probably Africa for that matter that you can by a single takeaway "serving" of. This is probably more of a result of economics than of convenience but here are a few examples I have noticed:

1) Eggs: Try going into your local Loblaws, Sainsbury's or Sobey's and trying to get away with buying only one egg. Sometimes you only need one egg....so why do we need to buy a dozen. Here in Tanzania you can buy one egg, or two, or three, or 20. What fun it is to buy eggs in odd numbers. It gives me a strange sense of power :)

2) Shots of Alcohol: Konyagi is a brand of vodka produced here in Tanzania. From the Konyagi website: "It embodies the care –free, fun loving nature of all Tanzanian and is truly “The spirit of the Nation.” Crystal clear alcohol with a citrus and spice nose, the flavor is different!Konyagi is exceptionally smooth at strength of 35% Alcohol content. (75 Proof)."

Frequently I notice empty sachets of Konyagi along the side of the road. Most often after a football (soccer) game has taken place in the area.

Konyagi 30ml pouch

Konyagi 100ml pouch


Drinking suggestions

• Konyagi is smooth enough to be drunk straight with a twist of lime or on-the-rocks [with ice
• Konyagi is fantastic with bitter lemon and crushed ice, known as Slush.
• Konyagi mixes well with Fanta Passion.
• Konyagi and Coke, or with Soda water all go down well.
• Konyagi and fresh fruit juice for those hot weekends.

3) Slices of pineapple: It's pineapple (nanasi in Swahili) season here in Tanzania and the tasty fruit is everywhere. However, purchasing an entire pineapple is a little costly. So around town there are people with wagons set up selling pineapples by the slice. For the low cost of 100 TSch (10 cents) you can enjoy a nice, fresh, juicy slice of pineapple.

4) Condoms: Yes, you can buy just one condom out of a machine in the washrooms of some of the finer establishments in downtown Toronto, but here in Africa, condoms can be purchased at most stores on a use-by-use basis. This probably makes planning your sexual encounters in an AID/HIV prevention-friendly way a little difficult. Especially if you are not an optimist and never plan ahead.

A popular brand here is Salama. They are sold (for about 3 cents each) or given out for free by NGOs and can be found almost everywhere.

5) Laundry Detergent: Maybe you just need to wash one t-shirt or one pair of pants (trousers!) or ..well you get the idea. Does it really make sense to go to the store and buy a box or jug of detergent. Laundry detergent can be purchased here in package sizes similar to the Konyagi sachets mentioned above. It's very convenient.

6) Cigarettes: Now I know for a fact that you can't do this at home in Canada, that is unless you are a smoker with stingy fellow smoker co-workers/friends who charge you when you try to bum a smoke. In town, on almost every street, young boys walk around holding circular baskets. In the centre are piles of red-skinned peanuts and the edges of the baskets are rimmed with packages of cigarettes. They walk around town clinking coins in their hands to make people aware of their presence. People can buy cigarettes by the pack or "by the each". Strangely, once you have made a purchase, you are given a small handful of peanuts. Not sure why...

7) Toilet Paper: I remember visiting a local Sainsbury's with Adel (my good buddy who lives in London) and spending at least 20 minutes perusing the vast quantity of choice in the toilet paper AISLE. There were different colours, different scents (only in England!), different thicknesses, different patterns. However, one thing was constant, the toilet paper, no matter the brand, only came in packs of 4, 6, 12, 16, 24 etc. This is beginning to sound a little Seinfeldesque but why is it you can't buy just one roll of toilet paper? You can here...only problem is...you may need to use the whole roll in one go.

I am sure everyone reading this knows how spoiled we are in the "developed" world when it comes to toilet paper quality/choice/variety/plys. Here there are different brands, Rexa is a major one, but all of the paper is the same, it's one ply and seems to dissolve upon contact with anything wet.

Here is an excerpt from an article about the toilet paper situation in Tanzania:

July 11, 2005- Tanzania Wants To Flush Out Poor Toilet Paper

"Concerned for the comfort and hygiene of its citizens, the Tanzanian government is warning the toiletry trade of legal action for producing or selling sub-standard toilet paper in the east African nation." The Tanzania Bureau of Standards, the country's principal regulatory body, says it will take manufacturers of poor-quality toilet paper to court if their products do not meet the national requirements.

A senior TBS official said, "It has come to our notice that there are firms manufacturing and selling sub-standard toilet paper...The production of sub-standard things like toilet paper is not only bad for the manufacturer but could tarnish the country's image."

Yes I agree...it could tarnish a country's image...Apparently, in the tropics, it's healthier to use water, instead of paper, and air dry. A pleasant picture, but essentially a more environmentally and nether-regionally friendly one.

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Now I know that this "by the each" phenomenon is not unique to Africa. In fact, one might argue that at Canada's very own Bulk Barn, people are able to purchase singles of just about anything. (For those of you who don't live in Eastern Canada, Bulk Barn is basically a store full of bins of candy, spices, grains, pastas, cereals, baking ingredients, nuts etc. Bulk Barn is Canada's largest bulk food retailer and has more than 100 stores in Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) Technically, at Bulk Barn, you could purchase a single grain of rice. If someone decides to try this, please take a photo of the cashier's face when you do so :)