If you have ever ordered a paint of something online and been surprised by what turned up, the problem is that a paint is a volume, not a weight. The same container holds very different amounts depending on what you put in it.
The common measures
- Derica — the old milk tin, still the smallest standard measure. Roughly 500g of grain or 400g of garri.
- Mudu — around four dericas, so roughly 2kg of beans or rice.
- Paint (paint rubber) — the four-litre paint bucket. Around 4kg for grains and beans, less for lighter goods.
- Bag — 50kg for rice and beans, but a bag of garri is measured differently again.
Why the same paint weighs differently
Density. A paint of beans packs tightly and comes in heavy. A paint of garri holds air between the grains and weighs noticeably less. A paint of dried pepper is lighter still — which is why pepper is normally sold by weight and garri by the paint.
This is not vendors being vague. It is a system that developed around containers everyone owned, and it works well as long as both sides know which container is meant.
What to do when you are buying online
Ask which measure is meant, and ask what it weighs for that specific product. Any seller who cannot tell you is guessing. Where we quote a paint, we say so on the product, and where we know the weight — wet iru, at about 4kg to the paint — we print it.
If you are ordering from abroad
Ask for weights, not measures. Couriers price by weight and volume, and “a paint of egusi” means nothing on a shipping form. Converting before you order saves an awkward conversation later.
Most of what we sell is priced by weight — 250g, 500g, 1kg — precisely because it travels. Where a paint is the sensible unit, we quote the paint. If you are unsure which you need, ask us and we will tell you what it weighs.