Lusaka Market

A thrift market that runs every month is a different event every month — new dates, a new theme, a different room, a different table layout, different prices. The usual answer is to rebuild the site each time, which is why most recurring events settle for a Facebook page instead.

So here the event is the thing the software edits. An admin creates an edition, themes it, drags out the floor plan table by table, sets the pricing tiers and publishes — no deploy. Vendors buy a specific numbered table and pay with Airtel Money or MTN MoMo; visitors buy admission and are checked in at the door by QR.

The hard part is not the booking form, it is two vendors tapping table B4 at the same moment. Inventory is held under a row lock with a timed hold that expires on its own, so a table is either yours or released — never quietly double-sold and reconciled by apology afterwards.