informal economy

Most of Burkina’s trade and businesses happens informally, which implies a couple of things. With a predominately informal economy education is not as necessary because you can create a job out of anything, with no education. Learning a skill such as sewing or craft making, or something becomes much more valuable than going to class. For instance the women I work with in the NGO make soap out of local plants and oils and sell that for money. Even my neighbors seeing that I am a white person come and ask to come into my home to show me their crafts. Today my neighbor who just had a new baby, came with her daughter Melinda, 4 months old, to show me the blankets she makes. All the while breast-feeding. Its difficult to watch her put scarves on while one boob is hanging out, but I managed to care as little as she did about it being there. My neighbor, whose name has slipped my mind at the moment, is the same age as me but married with a baby. She wants to know why I’m not married and why my boyfriend would let me come so far from home. She is also a very nervous first mother, as most women are. Asking me things such as “in your country how long does it take a baby to sit up?” “how long until she can walk?” Melinda is a skinny little thing although she eats constantly and doesn’t seem to have control over her eyes yet, which I’m nervous is not very good for a four month old. I have never seen Melina with a diaper on, some days she wears underwear, which is 4 sizes too big but not once wearing a diaper.
She is also always heavily decorated in plastic bracelets, which I didn’t even know they made them that small. She also has a few different type of strings wrapped around her waist. In Kenya this was to ward off the bad spirits from the children, I haven’t asked about it here but they look the same. There are usually a few tiny rocks tied to them which I can image the baby does not like to fall asleep on.
Its not just at home that people approach me but at work too, my co-workers bring friends of friends to show me their scares, water bottle holders, etc. thankfully I can still say, “Oh I’m a student, I have no money.” Informal economies thrive on social networking. You always know someone who sells something and if you can help them out then they will help you out. The brother of this apartment can find anything and everything in about 5 minutes just talking to someone who knows someone. Its amazing how fast batteries can be delivered or toilet paper in this type of economy. But it also contributes to the fact that when I use the expression “nothing is here” it is because you cannot tell that all these businesses are happening all over the place but being an American I need a big sign saying FOOD SOLD HERE. Or even better a picture of it!