Challenge:
- Bumpe Ngao is the largest Chiefdom in Sierra Leone (44,000)
- There are just two markets in the Chiefdom (Serabu Town and Bumpe Town)
- Women (often single or widowed) are a vulnerable group of citizens who work hard to maintain families
- Many succeed at petty trading, have material to trade, but have no marketplace for selling.
- Sellers need space to store, display and sell/trade commodities.
- Many communities need such a marketplace.
Solution:
- Identify and prioritize most practical locations for new community markets.
- Design, fund, construct and maintain permanent marketing space in central locations serving largest populations
- Develop plan for assigning, providing or renting space to individual sellers.
Impacts:
- Reduce need, cost of transportation for buying/selling essential items.
- Enable women to store and sell different commodities
- help farmers sell perishables or other items easily
- Keep money in the community instead of spent on transportation
- Allow spinsters, windows, married women to support their homes
- Help assure needed commodities are available most of the time
- Provide centralized trading activities; easier transactions for both buyers and sellers.
Costs/Goal:
- One market with storage will cost about $15,000.
