Transporting stuff

Tanzanians have all different ways of transporting cargo.  Cars, trucks, and motor cycles exist, yes, but fewer of them per capita than in the U.S.  Here are a few other modes:

Bicycles.  People use them to tote all sorts of things.  A load of sugar cane, balanced so that 3 feet or so sticks out on either side behind the rider.  A cubic yard of animal fodder.  Several jerry-cans of water or oil.

Donkeys.  Often used to carry burlap bags of produce to market.

Heads.  This is really impressive. It's almost always the women who carry things this way.  They typically have a cloth tied around their heads, twisted in such a way to provide padding and a level surface.  I have seen a woman hoist a 5 gallon bucket of water (that's 40 pounds, folks!) atop her head and walk off with it.  In the small towns and villages it is common to see women carrying large sacks of potatoes or onions this way.  Sometimes a woman will carry a small suitcase on her head on the way to the bus station. 

Backs.  It is less common to see women carrying cargo on their backs, but babies are always there, wrapped tightly in a sling.  Sometimes a woman will have a baby on her back and a sack of produce on her head. 

Finally, 2-wheeled wooden carts.  These are built of heavy wood.  They have an axle with large rubber tires, and a front extension with a bar running the width of the cart.  When I first saw them, I thought they were donkey- or ox-carts, but these are always pulled by a man.  They are loaded with all kinds of heavy cargo:  loads of lumber, several large sacks of who-knows-what, and sometimes another man to steady the load.  The muscle-power it takes to pull one of these, especially uphill, must be huge.  We see the carts moving along the streets all over the country, in big cities as well as in rural areas.  Drivers seem to respect them and steer around them as they would another vehicle.  (Actually, they are great for running interference with traffic when we are crossing the streets in Arusha, which doesn't have any stoplights, as far as I've seen, and certainly no pedestrian "Walk" signals).       

All of this makes me feel puny, but grateful that my life has not been that hard.