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Markets
How food enters Tunisian households
through everyday coordination.
Rhythms Are Repeated
Shopping follows a pattern.
The same paths are taken.
The same stalls are visited.
The same days and times return.
These rhythms reduce uncertainty.
Food is obtained without planning each time anew.
Familiarity Narrows Choice
Most decisions are already made.
Households return to vendors they know.
Quality is assumed rather than compared.
Choice is narrowed through habit, not evaluation.
The market becomes smaller over time.
Trust Replaces Explanation
Transactions do not require justification.
Vendor reputation substitutes for labels.
Recognition replaces inspection.
Words are few.
Understanding is shared.
Food changes hands without ceremony.
Negotiation Is Minimal
Exchange is not confrontational.
Prices are accepted.
Adjustments, when they happen, are quiet.
Silence is part of the process.
So is continuity.
The goal is not advantage.
It is stability.
Absence Does Not Escalate
When something is unavailable, the search ends.
Another item is chosen.
Or the meal changes.
Markets signal availability, not promise fulfillment.
Adaptation is expected.
What This Makes Possible
Because markets coordinate rather than stimulate, provisioning remains light.
Food enters the home without pressure.
Meals are shaped by what appears.
The system absorbs variation without disruption.
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