Comprador relutante

Reluctant buyer. If you’re not careful in Africa, you can wind up with a thousand of these mass-produced batiks. Every hawker will try to convince you that he produced them by candlelight in an artisanal workshop and that his initials are etched into the design. The less interesting reality is that they’re most likely produced in industrial amounts in a Chinese factory, shipped to ports like Durban and Mombasa, sold to wholesalers and then flogged for very little profit by the desperate and persistent traders who’ve approached me today. I succumbed simply after walking past this outdoor market, even on the other side of the fence.

My boss Ali has ordered me to recoup some days lost to weekend working, so today was a low key affair of strolling, doing errands and enjoying Maputo’s vibe (when not being harangued by batik sellers).