The weekly market is the heart of Kita's economy and social life. Traders converge on the central market square with everything the surrounding country produces — millet, peanuts, shea butter, dried fish from the Niger, mangoes in season — and everything it needs in exchange: enamel pots, fabric, batteries, plastic sandals, secondhand clothes from Europe.
Go early. By mid-morning the heat is brutal and the best produce is gone. The market is at its most photogenic just after dawn when the donkey carts roll in. Bargaining is expected; prices for an obvious foreigner start high. A few stalls grill brochettes and pour sweet mint tea — a good spot to sit and watch the town come and go.