The Stockers' Stories

What can a day’s salary buy in Malawi? The salary for a typical worker (like a public school teacher, a housekeeper, or a security guard) is in the neighborhood of 10,000 to 15,000 Malawian Kwacha per month, which works out to about four US dollars per day. Here are some pictures of what US$4 could buy:

You could get a pile of fruits and vegetables from the local market. The price and availability vary greatly through the year, but here’s what I was able to get today.

Or you could go to a grocery store instead of the local market, in which case you would have enough to buy everything needed to make French toast (except for maple syrup, which I haven’t found locally).

If you want to splurge, you could buy something imported from South Africa, like this box of Cheerios. But only if there’s a massively discounted “Special Offer” because it’s past the expiration date.

Or you could restock the bathroom with a roll of toilet paper, a box of kleenex, and a bar of soap.

What if you didn’t want to spend your day’s salary? What if you saved up for a month? Then you could buy a cassette/radio/CD player.

Or if you saved up for a month you would have enough to fill the tank of a small car. Of course you probably wouldn’t have a car, because that would take many years of savings.

And if you saved all of the money you earned for an entire year then you would have enough to buy a refrigerator.