Once a week, at the same spot and time, a shop on wheels arrives in the Mari villages of the Kirov region, Russia. This is the only opportunity for the few residents of these villages to buy groceries for the whole week. The nearest store that residents could go to is in a few kilometers away. It is difficult to get there by car due to the lack of roads, and many people simply can’t walk because of their health and age. 

In order not to forget what to buy, residents collect lists of their needs during the week. If there is something in the store or there is a specific order, such as a cake for an upcoming birthday, buyers ask the store’s sellers to bring it next time. And they bring.

The villagers and the workers of the shop on wheels already have more than just market relations. They exchange news, tell how things are going in other villages and also enter into the position of their customers when their pension is delayed — in a separate notebook, sellers write down products in debt. For many, the arrival of the store is the central event of the week.