Poto-Poto

Poto-Poto is a large district within Brazzaville that is densely populated and highly commercial. Many immigrants can be found here running, for example, Lebanese restaurants. The areas seems to be informally organized into sections by what is on offer. There is a whole area that is filled with fabric shops, which was the reason for my initial visit to Poto-Poto.

Like the carpet sellers in Istanbul, the guys sit at the edges of their open air shops and try to persuade customers to enter. We did not get any proposals of marriage, as Lily did in Istanbul, however. Every shop sells basically the same thing--pagne in stacks from floor to ceiling, somewhat organized by price and quality. There is no organization by color. So it is a riot of color and prints. Fabric comes waxed (better quality) and unwaxed. It is all imported, some from as far away as Europe and Asia. But the colors and patterns are distinct to the Congolese market.  Pagne is sold in 5 meter lengths, about 46" wide and is priced by the piece. The asking price for the best fabrics was about 18,000 Congolese francs or about $36.

Poto-Poto Shopping Team - Stro's dress is from pagne

Entering the first of several shops, my eyes just crossed. I did not know where to look first. By about the third shop, I figured out that the key was to focus so as to eliminate anything that was not right and then look specifically for the colors of interest. We had color samples with us, of course. This shopping mission was inspired by the reality that Stro's much-loved Mexican fabric purchased 15 years ago is now faded and dirty and the covers are not removable. So we were looking for blues and yellows to match the tabletop blue and yellow tile, with a mild orange and aqua, which are the other colors in her Mexican pottery.

Our final choices for two sets of chairs and a bench.

Chanelie, the housekeeper at Villa Gentil, and Romain, a friend, went with us. Thank goodness. Once we found the fabric we thought would work, Chanelie took over to bargain for the price and came up with 6,000 CFA per pagne rather than 18,000. I am not going back to Poto-Poto without her. So we got all the fabric for 10 chair cushions and a bench cushion for $80. Now we have to find an upholsterer who can make cushions with zippers to make them easier to remove and wash.

Although most shops are grouped by products, occasionally you will see an oddball. Just across the street from the shop where we bought the fabric we saw a hardware store or quincaillerie with a slogan on its sign that says, "Mon mari est capable," or "My husband is handy" or maybe "It's so nice to have a man around the house!"