British Airways loses Phil's bags. Phil is attending the conference through his company Pico Hydro. They do small scale hyrdo installs. It's ironic because he has boarded the plane in Heathrow and gets off in Accra. No stops, no plane changes but the bags end up in Italy. At the hotel we agree to meet for breakfast in the morning and visit the market across the street from the hotel so that he can shop for a few essentials.
The market stretches along the street and curves into a parking lot where booths and alleyways have been built from rough plywood. The wood walls create a snaking labyrinth of shops. Similar to what I saw in India, products are grouped together. Vendors selling men's clothes are all along one row, women's clothes another, children's toys yet another, etc. After Phil buys his toiletries, underwear and shirts we walk back towards the hotel to catch the bus which will shuttle us to the conference. On the way out of the market I see a knock off "Barefoot Power" (www.barefootpower.com) light. It's made of a very light weight plastic (one of the lights I look at is broken through the packaging.) We cause a bit of a row as I examine it closely and end up buying it for $5.00 USD. Suddenly we are surrounded by vendors trying to sell us kerosene lanterns, batteries, food, etc. We politely decline and head for the street.
"Tail light warranty" - The light breaks as soon as we start down the street! I wonder how these lights will poison the market? $5.00 USD is not as significant for me as it is for someone living on $1-2/day. These products could make it harder (or perhaps easier?) for Barefoot Power to sell their expensive, but better products? Also the "knock off" light uses 4 double "A" batteries instead of a rechargeable battery making the cost of ownership higher over the long term
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