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Mitumba Market MadnessMinimum 2 hour excursion Kenyans love their mitumba
markets, where second hand clothes are sold for a song. Effectively,
any clothes donated to charity destined for kenya are bundled up into
huge compressed bales then distributed around the country. The bundles
are then sold for the cost of distribution, opened up by the mitumba
stall holders and divided and sold on. In Njoro, new bundles are opened
Wednesdays and Saturdays and everyone with a spare penny goes to town
to see what bargains they can find. Many people prefer to shop from
the specialised stallholders who choose to do shirts, or jeans, or a
particular fashion look. Here you will pay 2-3 times the bale opening
price, but someone has selected what they think is the best.
 It is not unusual to find real designer labels and high quality clothing, because in the first world it is only the really well off that can afford to give so much away. Popular among groups coming to stay is to have a ‘bad taste party’, all members of the group put their names into a hat, then armed with 500/- go to Mitumba and buy an evening outfit for whoever’s name you drew out of the hat. Hilarious... This is the perfect chance to join the local community on a fun day out, do what they do, and have a laugh... Out of camp site, turn Left, at tarmac road turn right and go 4kms to Njoro town. Turn LEFT onto a dirt road just after the post office, and LEFT again down the first street. The Mitumba Market is on your right, park the car and go explore... |
