Harbu Market

The large market, held every Saturday in Harbu, the capital of Kalu Woreda, is an important event on the trading calendar of all inhabitants of Kalu. People walk for miles with their goods to sell or come into town to buy grain, animals, clothes, household goods, materials for weaving or basket making etc.

A woman grain trader from Kalu town explains how she sells her maize for 75 Birr per quintal, or 0.75 Birr per kg. The woman has no access to land and trading is her only source of income. She buys the maize in bulk from traders who come to Harbu and makes 1-3 Birr profit per day. A tiny mark-up, but “I do this to survive” she explains. 

The animals section of the market is small during the months leading up to the harvest season. The prices are low and therefore people who can choose not to sell their animals, won’t. There are a few traders who supply restaurants and there are some desperate salesmen, reluctantly forced to sell their animals to feed their families.  

Ahmed Muhe Hamsa is from Harbu town. He is selling a female goat. “This is the only animal I have. I have had this goat since she was born, six years ago. She has given me a good amount of offspring, but I am forced to sell her because I have no grain left to feed my family. I have a small plot of land where I grow teff and wheat. I hope to get 160 Birr for the goat. It is not a good price, but what can I do, I have to feed my children.” 

Tema Mohamed is a young man. He is selling a 3-year old oxen. He is from Tekaki village, Kebele 32 in Kalu. The village lies in the mountains behind the town. He is married and has one child, they live with his parents and cultivates his fathers land. 

“We have nothing right now to feed everybody in the family. That is why I am here selling this ox. It is the only one we have. We used to have a cow too; the mother of this animal, but we were forced to sell her last year. We used to be able to plough the land with both animals, then this year we had only one, and now we won’t have any oxen. We will have to sharecrop with another farmer who has got oxen, giving away half our harvest. I am hoping to get around 450 Birr for this animal. It is low season at the moment, the prices are bad. Many people in my village are selling their oxen right now. We didn’t have a very good harvest last year, so many farmers are running out of food.”