Humanitarian, entrepreneur, and mom of three Fatoumata “Fifi” Doumbouya stands at her register ready to serve with a smile. Photo credit for all images: Kristin Leong, November 1, 2023, the West African International Market in South Seattle.
Fatoumata “Fifi” Doumbouya never planned to stay in the U.S. or to become an entrepreneur, but when she lost her husband to cancer and became a single mother with three children and two master’s degrees, her inner business woman rose to the challenge. In the process, Seattle’s Rainer Valley community got the West African Queen Mother they didn’t know they needed, and Fifi discovered that bringing her humanitarian self to work is good business.
This is a love story about an accidental actualization of the American Dream. Meet Fifi and get a glimpse into her unstoppable journey here:
I loved Fifi’s footwear on the day of our interview.
Obgono is a big seller at the Market. Obgono is dried African mango seeds that are ground and mixed with a liquid like red palm oil to form a paste that is added to thicken soups and stews. I made a casava soup with obgono after I met Fifi and it was excellent.
A close-up of a photo featuring Fifi’s husband Almamy Sylla that hangs in the store’s back office. Fifi and Almamy opened the West African International Market in Hillman City in 2005. Since his passing from cancer in 2016, Fifi has been raising her children while running the store and nourishing Rainer Valley's community with warm welcomes and West African staples on her own. Both Fifi and Almamy are originally from Guinea Conakry.
Frozen casava leaves.
The back office at the West African International Market. In the Market’s early days when Fifi’s children were babies, the kids slept, ate, and played in a pack-n-play in this office while Fifi ran the store when her husband was working on fishing boats in Alaska or driving from Seattle to New York (and back again) to pick up African goods for the store.
Red palm oil is a staple in many West African dishes.
The window behind Fifi’s register displays currency from the home countries of her loyal customers. Fifi says in the Market’s early days, it was mostly all West African countries, but today countries all over the world are represented.
Frozen goat meat.
Fufu, or plantain flour, is one of the West African International Market’s biggest sellers. Plantain fufu is a gluten-free bread-like side that is often served with West African soups and stews.
A customer shops for dried goods.
This hot sauce is amazing. My family and I finished the jar in less than a week. If you like Korean gochujang red pepper paste, or Sichuan chili crisp, Meme’s Best might be for you too.
Fifi’s West African International Market is located at 5997 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98118.
This audio feature and photo essay was a Creative Connections project for the Essential Southeast Seattle Collective. It was produced with support from Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture. Kristin Leong wrote, produced, and hosted this feature and shot all of the photographs.
If you’re looking for more stories of fascinating outsiders making their own way, check out our Odd One In podcast and our ROCK PAPER RADIO newsletter for misfits and unlikely optimists. ROCK PAPER RADIO is generously supported by 4Culture and the Slants Foundation.
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Bonjour, fifi , c'est ton ami Alia