It is a Wednesday night at the Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) in Harare’s Southerton area.
A man prepares French fries to sell to farmers who would spend the night waiting for their tobacco to go through the auction.
It is a 24-hour business for the vendors who operate both from outside and inside TSF premises.
“I only go home for two or so hours to change clothes and freshen up. I spend nights here and I sleep right here,” said a vendor pointing to a makeshift mattress.
Women share a meal outside the Tobacco Sales Floor in Harare
In defiance of the strong stench in the toilet, the farmers seem to have found peaceful sleep, with some using their bags as pillows.
By 7pm, hundreds of farmers jostle for space in the auction floor toilet, probably the warmest place at night in the area.
With the toilet too small to accommodate the thousands of farmers, some find sanctuary in the car park, pavements and under trees or at vending stalls like this man, pictured at the auction floors.
A man sleeps in the car park at the sales floor
However, it is not all doom at the auction floors this year as some farmers can afford to be extravagant and spend on things like beer and commercial sex before they leave TSF.
Comments are closed.