My name is Zula. I am a young woman of Bantu origin. I turn 16 this year.

I live in the

city of Cerne, which is near the west coast of Africa. It is next to the trading center Carthage. I

work as a vegetable seller/farmer. I work with my mother and aunt. We grow the vegetables by

ourselves and trade any excess we have. We have no trouble trading all the surplus food because

business is thriving these days. All our trade takes place in Carthage, but we know that a few of

the vegetables and resources we trade for were brought here through trade routes. There are

many other cities nearby, but I have never been to any of them, because travel across the Sahara

Desert is difficult and unnecessary. Although traders from other cities near us and from foreign

lands, sometimes bring many commodities to Carthage, a lot of trade that goes on within this

town is for products made locally.

My family is well off, mostly because we have a lot of crops and my father hunts well.

We live in a mud-stone house with timber foundations. It is a one-story hut. My father has a

large plot of land that we use for farming. He does not farm but takes care of the hunting for the

family. Most of our family’s money comes from what my father finds in in his hunts. Sometimes

he brings home meat, animal hide, and bones which are very valuable. As a woman, I cannot

usually hunt. I do not have as many rights as men do. Male traders are also more respected than

female traders, but its’ not a big difference.

I usually wake up very early to feed our cows and water the crops. I spend my days trying

to either water our crops or harvest them. We depend on our crops for half of our livelihood, so

they are very important. Most of plants are banana plants so they require some effort to harvest.

Usually, at night I help my mother prepare dinner from our homegrown grain and banana and we

eat with my father, before going to sleep on stray mats. During the early fall, once the crops are
harvested, my mother, grandmother, and I go down to the market to trade our surplus vegetables

for materials we need.