Karachi's Donkey Cart Merchants Face Inflation, Urban Sprawl

TaiwanPlus News

Donkey cart drivers in Karachi, Pakistan, used to be the cheapest way to haul goods to and from the city's markets. But today, inflation and urban sprawl may put the whole industry out to pasture.

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00:00Like many people in Karachi's donkey cart business,

00:05Mohammad wonders if his asses are still assets.

00:08A few years back, it cost him less than one US dollar a day to feed his animals.

00:13Today, it costs him around three.

00:15I used to work as a donkey carter.

00:18I used to drive a donkey cart.

00:20Before, it was cheaper and you couldn't get anything cheaper.

00:24For much of the last 150 years,

00:27donkeys were the cheapest way to haul things through Karachi's narrow streets.

00:32Coming to and from local markets,

00:34their carts were so common that they required license plates.

00:38That's all changed.

00:39A combination of inflation and urban sprawl has made donkeys less economical.

00:45At nearly 20 million people,

00:47Pakistan's largest city is 50 times more populous than it was 80 years ago.

00:52That boom has come with modern roads, making donkeys impractical.

00:57For sellers, say, people still eye the animals,

00:59but after a bit of heeing and hawing, usually leave empty-handed.

01:03We come here, sit and sit, and spend money.

01:06If it doesn't sell, we take it home.

01:07Then we wait for a week.

01:10Then we come back on Sunday.

01:12If it sells, we take it home.

01:13If it doesn't sell, we take it home.

01:16That's how it is.

01:17If it sells, we get 2,000-4,000.

01:19If it doesn't sell, we spend another week.

01:22There's one donkey for every 40 people in Pakistan.

01:26And while inflation is cutting into profits,

01:28they remain the cheapest option for shipping short distances.

01:31So while some may be in favor of phasing them out,

01:34others remain stubborn.

01:47So while it's clear that the donkey's heyday may be here,

01:50but the donkey's heyday may be over,

01:52it will be a long time yet before they're put out to pasture.

01:56Fu Hua-hung and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.

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