CAIRO: The green grocer's job was once limited to selling vegetables. But today his responsibilities have extended to cleaning and sometimes peeling their fresh goods. Some vendors - mostly women - have willingly taken up this job, selling fresh clean vegetables for several years and earning a good living on Falaki Street, close to the popular Bab El-Luk vegetable market. Many of the vendors can also be seen at Al Gamei Square in Heliopolis, as well as in Dokki. You can see women working hard pulling leaves off artichokes, coring zucchini, white and black eggplants, and capsicums, all of which are on demand at all seasons to make mahshi (stuffed vegetables). Also available are clean and chopped okra, green beans, mulokhia leaves, and assorted greens for vegetable soup. While their main customers are mostly working women who, on their way back from work, opt for a fresh item to cook that wouldn't take as long, their services are sought during special occasions. "Whenever you have a party just call me two days in advance and tell me what you want exactly, said Om Walid, a vendor at Bab El-Luk, who has two other women assisting her in cleaning and peeling the vegetables. The women are supplied vegetables at the wholesale price but sell them clean, peeled and ready to cook charging an extra 50 piasters for each kilo. These vendors started their business 15 years ago in different parts of the capital, competing with the frozen veggies. However, when the demographic nature of Cairo started to change with some of the wealthy classes moving away to the new cities, their sales suffered occasional drops. "Five or six years ago I used to bring 20 kilos of vegetables to sell at this very spot, recalled Om Heba, a Bab El-Luk-based seller. "All these quantities used to disappear by the end of the day. But today I might get 10 kilos of assorted vegetables, yet I don't manage to sell them in two days, added the vendor. Om Adila also suffers from the same problem. "A few years ago a lady who lives in Shorouk City used to visit me every week to buy LE 300 worth of vegetables. But this was before they had their own marketplace. "I understand that I operate at a popular busy area like Bab El-Luk but the purchase power here is weak and I can't move to a new area. Besides suffering from back pain, I can't be sure there would be a minimal demand for my items elsewhere, said Om Adila. A drop in sales also occurred when a few supermarkets began to display fresh clean vegetables at higher prices when the demand decreased for their frozen items, but that doesn't seem to worry some of the vendors. "I know that [fresh vegetables] are available in these supermarkets but we charge only 50 piasters extra for each kilo. Where else would you find this privilege? said Om Heba. Om Ibrahim who took a seat next to Om Heba believes that they still have the advantage. "Forget about the freshness, we know they sell them frozen, but the quality has come down. This is why people come here whenever they can. The vendors start working as early as 8 am. Om Walid said that winter is ideal for their sales because in summer the vegetables wilt in the heat. "Some who used to do the same job have quit. Now they make home-made dishes like mahshi, said Om Heba. "But I really can't take this step, for I can't stand on my feet for a long time. To set up a special kitchen requires money that I don't have. "I have been buying from them for two years, said Khadiga, who thinks vendors like these should advertise their services through small ads in the newspapers. "I really don't know anything about this. I am a poor illiterate woman, said Om Hamdi. "They're doing us a great service, said one man who passes by twice a week to get his stock of vegetables. "Sometimes we don't buy fresh vegetables due to the effort involved in cleaning them. My wife hates it, he added. "We really need to set up special markets for these women. If not, just corners for the fresh vegetables in each big vegetable market. We need to encourage these jobs for both good, added one of the buyers.
