* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Sara McHattie is a food expert at the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO).
Shopping in Central African Republic is, like many countries in Africa, done on the road. With a collapsed physical infrastructure - the number of roads is steadily decreasing - and an almost complete lack of domestic and international markets, there are few other places to sell your wares than on the roadside in front of your village.
The main buyers are those intrepid few who brave the roads with their rebels, bandits, decrepit bridges and legendary potholes.
Most households produce barely enough food to feed themselves, and have little to sell beyond what can be gathered in the forest. This includes papayas, avocados, oranges and grapefruit that grow in wild profusion, as well as anything that moves.
Large rats are hung from poles to tempt passersby, and small groups of people walking down the road often have a gazelle, monkey, wild boar mouse or rat hanging off the end of a stick. While on a field visit in January, a friend was regretfully informed that she had missed caterpillar season.
Perhaps the most interesting was the python. Cut into pieces about 10 inches long and lightly smoked, the chunks hung from a stick (the hunter kept the head for himself and had just eaten it for lunch).
Our driver was very excited by this find, as coveted python steak is very expensive in the capital Bangui. We quickly stopped the car, turned around and bought three steaks for about 2.30 euros.
Python tastes like fish and is boiled, then served with a paste of wild pistachios and sesame seeds. The special dinner party he would now plan would only include men - the python is a powerful animal, he explained, and its meat isn't appropriate for children or women.
Box stores just don't offer that kind of excitement.
