One of the attractions of Abidjan, capital of Cote d'Ivoire - laundress faniko. In the language of Dioula "Fanny" means "cloth, clothes," and "to" - "to wash." So, faniko - is "one who washes clothes." Washerwomen here work exclusively men and women work hard to be found only in the soap factories.
Long before dawn faniko bypasses the house to collect a job for the day. Some customers live 3 kilometers from the river. We have to put things in a wooden cart or bundle up and set up on the head. Faniko then sent to the river by the bank.
At what cost a laundry service? Wash shirt is $ 0.07 (2 Russian rubles) and a sheet - $ 0.14 (4 rubles). It is understandable why faniko have so much work to get men.
Washing is unthinkable without soap from palm oil. Therefore, the recruits had to use it properly. Use three different types of soap, different colors: white and yellow - for lightly soiled fabrics, black - for very dirty. In the black soap dyes its main ingredient - palm oil. As each faniko per day spends no less than ten pieces were attached near soap-boiler.
Soap making - not a simple matter, it starts at six in the morning. At the local market, bought the necessary materials ahead of time: condensed palm oil, alkali, salt, Annonas juice, cocoa butter and coconut. All of these organic substances are merged into the pot and simmer over a fire. Approximately six hours soapy concoction comes to the condition, and it is poured into tin forms. When a few hours of soap hardens, it is cut in large pieces.
Then the soap factories worker puts the goods in a plastic bowl, put it on his head and down to the river. But when buying a washer soap, if he is busy working? A woman comes up to his waist in the river, launches its basin and sells soap washer, keeping them from working.
Looking at the huge pile of clothes, can not help asking: how they are stored, where is whose?
First, when the washer collects things for washing, he notices the size of clothes for each family member to remember who owns what. No caption or tags. Then on each garment of one family he ties knots in the same place, such as the left or right sleeve, on the collar or on a belt. During washing clothes, he adds, taken from one yard, in a separate pile. We still think it's too hard. "Faniko never lose a thing!"
Can anyone come and start washing in the river bank? Far from it! First you need to go through the whole procedure. Future faniko to withstand a three-month trial period, during which it teaches veteran laundry. During this time the novice master the science of remembering. If he does not succeed, he will have to seek work elsewhere. But those who show skill, will be able to purchase at a reasonable cost workplace - recessed into the water bus, which no one but he has no right to use it.
If you go here, be prepared that you will have to extort money for the shoot.
This is only superficially it seems that everything is not organized. In fact, here everyone has a clear place, there is a guard, head, etc. Rules about how to market.
