Kigali - Post Report Question and Answers
What household or grocery items do you wish you had shipped to post?
Hair products for caucasian hair type. They are rare and extremely expensive. Trash bags; The country has a ban on plastic bags, but not on trash bags, however they are not produced and you cannot find them. Or it is extremely difficult to find them. otherwise, you can find everything else. - Oct 2023
We sent a lot of cooking oils and cleaning supplies as they are very expensive here (oh and alcohol ; ) - Aug 2023
More Trader Joe’s goods :). I also wish I brought more cleaning supplies. They aren’t cheap on the local economy and aren’t environmentally friendly if that’s something important to you. - Jan 2022
More IPAs (and good beer in general). The local beer is, let's be nice and say sub-par, and quality liquor and wine can be hard to find and/or pricey. (Wine, for example, is going to be three times what you'd pay in The States for the same brand). Also, toiletries can be kind of expensive here, so be sure to bring what you want/need from The States. Another good idea is to get a cooler to take with you anytime you travel (even just to other sub-Saharan countries like Kenya and South Africa). Meats, cheeses, and alcohol are way better and cheaper in those countries and, of course, in most of Europe. - Jul 2020
Anything where you have dietary needs or care about the brand. If you aren't picky, you will find it somewhere in town from time to time (but not always) at high costs. - Sep 2019
Pouches for kids, but most things you can get here. We often freeze meat (e.g., bacon and specialty meats) and cheese when we are traveling back to Rwanda. Wine is very expensive, and the local beer options, though plentiful, leave a bit to be desired. - Jun 2018
As a consumables post, we always ship oils, vinegars, peanut butter, jams, jarred sauces, laundry detergent, soaps, toiletries in general, paper products, ethnic foods/sauces/seasonings. Amazon covers a lot of the dry goods. - Dec 2017
Cleaning supplies and liquid food items should be shipped. Thanks to Amazon and the pouch, you can get almost anything else you need. But take advantage of that consumables shipment. Just beware of bringing too much. A lot of people find themselves trying to sell off their extra before departing post. - Jan 2017
Just bring liquids in your consumbles as you can't ship them to post. Bring plenty of laundry detergent and dish soap too -- our housekeeper has commented on how diluted the dish soap is here compared to the concentration of the ones from the U.S. so we go through the local stuff like crazy. People tend to host parties/bbqs a lot so bring things for grilling, outdoor toys, local beers, etc. Would also bring more bug repellents like candles or lights that can hang outside as well as all natural roach spray. - Apr 2016
More liquid and canned items. - Oct 2014
Toiletries, cleaning products, peanut butter, chocolate chips, canned chicken, canned fish, canned salmon, maple syrup, any specialty flours or grains. - Jul 2014
We actually did do it again and we shipped a lot of canned vegetables, and other canned type items. We also shipped some of our favorite dipping sauces. We are always ordering all our dry goods on Amazon. My recommendation is use your consumables only for liquids. - Sep 2013
We're glad we brought pasta sauce, BBQ sauces, spices, Asian cooking supplies, quality toilet paper and other paper products, personal and feminine products, and liquid laundry detergent. Pet supplies are indispensable. - May 2012
I've been around, so I know: anything liquid, put in your consumables. But for everyone else, must haves are: coolers, camping equipment, booze and wine (expensive!), ragu, salad dressing, mustard, vanilla extract. - Apr 2012
You can buy almost everything here if you are willing to pay the price. But bring olive oil (expensive here), mexican spices, paper products, air tight containers to protect food from unwanted critters, brown sugar - Jul 2011
Toilet paper, paper towels, chocolate syrup, more cereal, all babyfood items and diaper-relatd items. - Oct 2010
Basically most food you like you can't get here, so pack it. Anything liquid or glass can't come through the pouch. We’d also bring a ton more books, movies and video games, there isn’t a movie theater here, or too much to do once you've done what little that is here. Also canned chicken The chicken here is tough and tastes... okay. - Jan 2010
If you have Westernized children who are picky about their food, then consider these items. For example, Pizza in Rwanda is OK, but not like what you would purchase in the US. The pizza is prepared like what would you would expect in London, and/or Italy. Flat crust, local cheese, and minimal toppings. - Aug 2008
