Here (in Barbados) we came out of our re-lock about 2 weeks ago on Monday March 1. This time, although the lock-in was for a month, compared to the nearly 4-month lock-in last year, it was felt different and experienced differently in many ways from many people, I was included. Last year, although we could go to the supermarkets, markets, minimarts, village shops, convenience stores and fish markets, albeit on an alphabetical system for a limited period of time – 4 hours on your designated days, allotted in order of alphabet – it was not so with this second closing. The only places where people could get food, fruit, vegetables etc. were in supermarkets Monday to Friday between 8 am and 4pm. Selected minimarts across the island were allowed to open for the same period to serve services. However, markets were not allowed to open. Not good. None. And no street selling was allowed either. What I missed in this recap was the lack of access to fresh fruit, vegetables and produce. I do not buy fruit, vegetables, ground provisions, eggs, poultry, fish or meat from supermarkets.
The week before the lockdown was announced, I doubled the amount of vegetables I would normally buy, cook and freeze. Initially, the lockdown was down for two weeks. By the end of the first week, I realized it was going to be extended for another two weeks. Generally speaking, it didn’t bother me because all I was going to run out of was vegetables. The strict stay-at-home mandate also meant that, apart from deliveries coming from supermarkets, there would be no deliveries, drop-offs or pick-ups by vendors. But it wasn’t all lost; an acquaintance of mine put me on a seller who sensibly delivered goods. You would get a list of the various items along with prices sent to WhatsApp; you would place the order and pay on delivery. At the end of the second week of closing, I placed an order for sides, bora, pak choi, tomatoes, onions, English potatoes, plantain, and a mixed fresh herb bag.
All my stuff arrived in a tidy box. As I carried the box to the kitchen I was already planning to cook fried bora with potatoes. The pak choi and the sides would be fried separately; the tomatoes were going to be made into salsa with my fried green plantain.
I lost the market. I opened the box, picked up the package with the morning and threw it – it was all dry and hard. The white stems of the pak choi were hard and brittle and the leaves turned light yellow; almost half of the sides were hard. Some of the potatoes were already sprouting and the onions, when pressed, were not firm. A few days later, when I broke into the tomatoes, more than half of them were dry. The plantain and herb bag were the best. Oh, how I lost the market. For me, one of the pleasures of shopping in the market is that I can see what I’m buying and check for quality before choosing.
At the start of the fourth week of closing, I was able to buy some callaloo and karaila from a friend who had a large kitchen garden and was sneaking out to distribute his homemade coconut oil to some of his regular customers.
Monday arrived March 1, and the week seemed to be getting long to reach Saturday so I could go to market. I arrived at my normal time – 6.30 am. Out-of-market vendors along the sunny sidewalk set up their stalls and unpacked produce. The internal market took another half an hour to get serious about it because according to the mandate, markets will operate from 8 am to 4pm, however, sellers have to close shop at 2 pm in order for the market to cleaned and sanitized. And everyone has to organize themselves to get home before the 7pm curfew.
Walking along the Cheap Side pavement, I was so happy to see people searching for their trade again even though there weren’t as many vendors as usual. The lockout had a devastating effect on sellers because it meant they had no way to earn income for a month. The government has / promised them money, but I think the bureaucracy to access it is unreasonable for many. Most sellers are not farmers, they buy from farms and farmers for sale, so having no income for such a long time having living costs and other financial commitments is bound to have repercussions on their ability to earn a living.
There were also many vacant stalls on the inside of the market.
In terms of product availability, there was a little bit of everything; there was a large supply of lettuce, pak choi and local onions. There was a steady flow of shoppers but definitely not the usual crowd. It is understandable that with the community spread of the virus now in Barbados, we are all even more cautious.
It will take some time to get used to shopping in the market again. There are specific gatherings that take place in markets that the authorities want to stop so every so often you can see police personnel passing by to make sure we follow the distance guidelines and not congregate around stalls. Shopping took longer as we stood in lines at various stalls. We were all patient; it was good to be back in the market again. Over the next two weeks, I hope to make it into the meat section of the market and also to one of the fish markets. Markets are life.
Cynthia
www.tasteslikehome.org