A Glimpse into the Kenyan Flea Market

Who else hates January? It is usually very long and of course no money as well.
In Kenya we call it "Njaanauary" the NJAA is Kiswahili for Hunger. This is because after the Christmas and new festivities, the average wallet is quite empty... add on to that is the fact that the children are also opening school and this means school fees to be paid, uniform, school books etc. so as you can see, everyone is quite broke and waiting for the January payslip which looks like its 5 months away right now:-((
With this situation in hand, I found myself in dire need of some new shoes and maybe a dress or two. l could not afford to go to the malls to shop...they are too expensive right now when essentially every cent counts.
Luckily for me, we have other very enticing options and that is where the second hand markets come in. We have two of the largest second hand clothes markets in East Africa where one can find very good and unique items for such low prices ranging between $0.5 to $10. If you are hard pressed for money and in need of a new wardrobe or even if you want to find very unique pieces of clothes, shoes, bags..etc, these are the places to visit.
It is important to note that the second hand business is very lucrative here. Most of these clothes are donations from the USA and the UK, China, etc. They are packed in bales and shipped here. When they land, the business people buy them per bale and sell to the traders, who the sell to other smaller traders then they are sold to the final consumer. We like them because as I mentioned, you get very unique pieces and at very cheap prices.
I visited Toi market. Toi means baby, its named so because the larger part of it sells baby clothes. A pregnant woman on a budget can come and shop for clothes for her baby to last a whole year!. I took picture to show you a glimpse of what it is like. What you will see is just a part of it. To cover all of it would take a whole day as it is quite large.

A Lady choosing her blouses

Such "stalls" go on and on. You are spoilt for choice

The fruit vendors are not left behind!


More and more shoes

For the movie lovers..these cost $0.5

Crocs are available in plenty too!

you would have to spend 20 Mins with this pile to find a decent piece:-)

Sugarcane vendor with his merchandise on display

its 25 degrees outside. These come in handy

$4 for a pair

More shoes and shorts!

Sun dresses

I found the perfect fit for $3 :-))

Serious bargaining going on here..

You can get utensils for your kitchen too.

Second hand books $2 each

Belts in plenty

The "Matatu" most common mode of transport in Kenya.
As you can see, you get literally everything you want here, at pocket friendly prices:-))
Welcome to Kenya.