The “centre commercial” near my home is an interesting place. Kinshasa is hot, so if you can’t afford to lease a building and don’t have a large umbrella, the next best place to establish a business is under a tree. We have a realtor-under-a-tree, a barber-under-a-tree, a money-changer-under-a-tree, policemen-under-a-tree, florists-under-a-tree, a cafe-under-a-tree, a mini-mart-under-a-tree, and several other under-a-tree businesses, including Papa Joseph, my favorite vegetable vendor.

I see Papa Joseph on Mondays and give him a carefully printed list in French of what I need for the week. We go over the list together and he tallies the cost so I can pay in advance. When I return the next day to pick up my vegetables, Papa Joseph insists on showing me the quality and quantity of each item. He often says something like, “You ordered six limes, but they are very small so I gave you ten. You ordered four tomatoes but I gave you five because they are small.” I have seen him pull out his best bunch of carrots to put into my sack.

Sometimes Papa Joseph makes mistakes adding prices or reading his own handwriting (or mine) because he is not highly literate. He doesn’t get every order perfect, but he always gives me his best service. I could buy my produce from other vendors who may have better math and reading skills or nicer vegetables. I prefer Papa Joseph because he is honest and his heart has good intentions. Honesty goes a long way when choosing an under-the-tree-vendor in the Congo.