Toi Market is an open-air

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...

located on the outskirts of the

Kibera Kibera (Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa.http://www.dominionpa ...

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The market sits on a three-acre plot on Suna Road, a by-street to

Ngong Road Ngong Road is a major road in Kenya that links the city of Nairobi to Ngong town. It runs from the Nairobi central business district all the way to the Ngong Stadium, passing by major places in Nairobi and Ngong such as the Kenyatta National Hospi ...

which runs almost the length of Nairobi, from the

Lang'ata Lang'ata is a predominantly middle-class residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonka, Mada ...

area into the center of the city. From its inception until it was razed by gangs during post-election violence in early 2008, Toi was one of the largest informal markets in Nairobi, with over 5000 traders. It mainly sells

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

and

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

, but also vegetables and other accessories. In April 2018, the Nairobi County government announced that it would demolish the market and construct modern houses on the land. The market would be moved elsewhere, although the announcement did not specify where. The market was demolished a month later, with demolitions going on until July 2018. However, as of November 2023, the market is still informally running, with wooden and corrugated iron

kiosks Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist in an ...

scattered across the plot.

References

External links

Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor: Photo story of the Toi Market in Kenya
*http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=1143961740 Buildings and structures in Nairobi {{Nairobi-geo-stub