Introduction
Hello my esteem friends in the SteemAlive community, accept warm steem greetings from Cameroon🇨🇲. It is another awesome week for challenges and I am happy to participate. Participating in this challenge, I will be talking about a local shop in my city, which sells traditional attires.
Cameroon has varieties of traditional regalia but designers can blend them to make them look unique. Some of the products I will talk about in the shop I will review will have a blend of the Northwest and west region.
Physical Address of the Shop.
The shop's name is Anabela Awa’s Design in Bamenda city, sonac street. The direction of the shop is not complicated, it is easy to locate because it is beside the road leading to the city Chemist roundabout.
This is a busy street because travel agencies are located along this street. So many visitors or those traveling into the city take buses to other regions on this street. On this street, we have the Moghamo bus agency, which is the highest populated agency. The location of the shop is in a strategic position, as travelers in and to other regions can easily pick up their attires.
Products Sold in the Shop.
Traditional Cap:
This cap is for the chief because of the cowries on it. An ordinary person cannot wear this cap. However, someone can buy it but cannot wear it within the North West Region of Cameroon. It is designed for the chiefs, so if u put it on, anywhere you pass, people will look at you as if you are not normal. In my village no matter how rich you are, you cannot wear this cap because the secret society in the palace can harm you spiritually.
However, there are other caps that anyone can wear them during traditional occasions.
Toghu:
This is one of the most popular designs in the North West Region but is very expensive. As for the toghu, anyone can wear it irrespective of who you are.
Beads:
The beads are used to design necklaces and bangles. Putting on the atoghu with a blend of bead necklace and bangle makes it looks awesome.
Traditional cup:
The cup is used during traditional ceremonies to drink palm wine. One thing I know is that you do not use this cup to drink other drinks apart from the traditional drinks like corn beer, and palm wine.
Women’s Gowns:
Women put on this during traditional ceremonies but some women put them on other occasions like I for example, I put it on to church.
Cost of the Goods Sold in Local Currency and Steem Equivalent.
The prices in Steem are based on the current market rate and can change but the local currency does not change. An observation I saw was that dresses did not have any price tag. Therefore, if you bargain well, you can buy at cheaper or more expensive rates. These are the few prices I could get from the shop owner because she was busy marking.
| Item | Price(FCFA) | STEEM |
|---|---|---|
| Toghu | 150,000 | 1,400 |
| Fon’s cap | 100,000 | 950 |
| Necklace | 15,000 | 130 |
| Cap | 10,000 | 95 |
| Women’s gown | 50,000 | 500 |
What I Bought from the shop.
I went to the shop to buy my cap because I already have the traditional regalia. The image below is the cap I bought which cost me 10,000CFA.
While at the shop, my sister called and also requested a cap. So, she had to send a sample for hers to make her own from. The reason why I paid 20,000CFA is seen in the image below. There was no receipt issue as they told me.
The caps were looking good and tempting in a way that you can end up buying many😂😂.
Rate the shop based on your shopping experience or what you already know.
As I earlier said, the location of the shop is not complicated. I was directed to the shop today, and I took a cab and dropped in front of the shop.
Traditional attires are of high quality and especially the toghu. It takes a lot of patience and time to mark those dresses. It is designed using high-quality thread and needles. Some of the designs are hand marking, which is a lot of manual work. Some are designed with machines but equally need patience and time.
The prices are expensive due to the type of materials used. I do not think someone without a good source of income can afford them. However, you might be fortunate for someone to buy on your behalf.
The customer service here is top-notched, they are welcoming, and keep the customer happy. Not like in other shops that just trying to fit or snap, they cannot allow you to snap. But at Anabela Awa’s design shop, if you are not in a haste, you can fit all dresses and snap but buy 1 item no matter the price.
I will welcome @majerius, @graciella, @monjuapollonia and @tenguatanga to take up this challenge.
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