This post is part of the series 'Gettin' By'. Read this for explanation.
Profession: Coconut Seller
Location: Roaming
How it works: Coconuts come to Monrovia packed into trucks and cars from villages all around the country. The outer husks have been hacked off with machetes, to reduce size and weight. Sellers are generally old women, who carry up to 25 or 30 on their head (which is psycho heavy), or young men who can carry up to 80 in wheelbarrows.
Every seller carries a machete, allowing them to split the coconuts for anyone who stops them as they walk through the streets. They wait patiently as buyers drink, split the coconut to access the meat, take the empty shell, and move on.
Cash: Street sellers buy them wholesale for around $10 LD ($0.14 US), or '2 for 15' [$LD] at spots around the city. Coconuts generally retail for $20 LD. Meaning that to make a dollar, 7 coconuts must be sold - roughly 15 pounds of weight.
Variables and Dangers: Insanely sore neck, machete wounds.
Net Profit: For female sellers, they rarely earn $ 5 US /load. Some will take more than one load per day, but it is rare, as they often have families to tend to, and business can be slow.
Wheelbarrow men can earn over $10 US/day, but this kind of profit demands a 10 hour day.
Point of Reference: used T-shirt sold on the street costs $ 1 - 3 US
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3 comments:
really diggin this new series. amzing how the cutlass can have some uses and yet be a weapon of war. also amazing how strong people can be when necessary. here in North America we're always complaining about sore backs and shitty bosses and being tired of traffic and needin new cars and other trivial bullshit. and yet nary one of us has to sell coconuts from our head tops. many thanks for reminding me to take advantage of this life I have.
suggestion for next "gettin by" .. the used tshirt seller.. ;D
then use that point of reference for the next one, etc
-dave
suggestion for next "Gettin By...": the rock breaker... always wondered how much those guys can make. I've spoken to a few and it sounds really good... if they can sell it. sometimes their pile of rock sits there for weeks. That can't help the economics.
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