Bicycles

Last weekend, we went to Kirundo, a small town in the north of Burundi, the poorest region. But that is relative. Burundi is poor. Full stop. But it is when you're traveling that you notice it more. 

Some data from Worldbank, CIA factbook etc: 

The national income per capita (GNI) is less than $250 (that means that on average, a person earns less than $250 per year!!), there are 308 people living per square meter and a it has a population growth of 1,9%. Every woman gets an average of 4.1 children (more in the rural areas) and according to the CIA Factbook, Burundi ranks 190 out of 192 countries by GDP per capita. There is not a spot of land that is unused for agriculture. People are cultivating land that is almost as steep as a wall. 

One of the things that really struck me on our trip, in comparison to Cameroon, is the use of bicycles. In Cameroon, motor bikes are the common way of transporting goods. Here, it's bicycles. 

Bicycles in any state, are usually re-enforced in the front and at the back, to carry a load as heavy and big as possible.

Everything gets transported by bike. Often for many many kilometers. On top of that, in Burundi, it's all uphill or downhill. 

Downhill is easy. And for uphill, they often take a ride:

Below some pictures (taken out of a driving car and through the front windscreen) of what people transport on their bicycles:

Bananas...

fire wood...

cauliflower...

more vegetables...

roof tiles...

food for their livestock...

building/fencing materials...

corrugated iron...

more bananas...

charcoal...

... and many more.