Tuck shops are the convenience stores of Botswana. They are located alongside streets throughout Gaborone and other towns and villages. Because many people walk they are located by kombi/bus stops or locations with heavy walking trafffic, or they are just the local neighborhood market. They range in size from card tables to small permanent buildings. Many of the tuck shops are modified metal shipping containers.
The small shops that are just a table, chair, and large shade umbrella are usually set up and taken down each day. Many mornings we see people pushing wheelbarrows with all their equipment and supplies heading to where they will set up their tuck shop for the day. We have seen people sleeping in their wheelbarrows when business is slow. Running a tuck shop is not an easy job when the weather is cold or very hot. Think about being in a metal box or out in the open with an umbrella for shade on a 38 degree Celsius (100 degree Farenheit) day. Many of the tuck shops are set up to take advantage of the shade of a tree. They are most often manned by women, sometimes with small children.
They all sell snacks, cookies, and candy. The larger, more permanent, shops also carry cold drinks, and staples such as bread, fruits, vegetables, etc. They keep the drinks cold in coolers with ice because they do not have electricity. Some appear to do a pretty good business. They are popular places to shop. At some busy kombi stops there will be a row of tables set up all selling similar items.
Our lives are so easy in comparison, huh?
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