June 10, 2008

Who will buy my vegetables?

Manila's streets are full of "informal vendors" selling anything and everything from fresh produce and fish to umbrellas and clothing accessories. This is especially true in streets near major transportation stops. At the start of the day, this old woman and the young man helping her—most probably her son or a nephew—wheel in their cart from wherever they get their vegetables, stake their place on the street or along a sidewalk, and push it back home again at the end of the day (or earlier, if they're lucky enough to sell everything before evening). They're a boon for working wives and mothers, who buy their vegetables after getting off the bus from work so they can cook dinner when they get home.

vegetable cart

3 comments:

Rob said...

Fresh produce daily. People earning a living. Here, we have too many big box corporation supermaket stores. No freindly service.

Olivier said...

j'aime ces marchands, on trouve toujours des produits frais. A la sortie de la gare d'Evry, il y a un vendeur de légumes frais de son jardin, j'en achète souvent.
I like these merchants, there are always fresh produce. On leaving the station at Evry, there is a seller of vegetables from his garden, I buy often.

Louis la Vache said...

"Louis" likes to support these small vendors when possible. They are not very common here in the San Francisco Bay area - though Farmer's Markets have gotten to be very popular.