Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa 20142016
Activity Report of Field Research

The role of indigenous animal-drawn transportation in Southern Ethiopia;
Change of the use of domestic animals
Homari DOI1

1

Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, African Area Studies, Kyoto
University, Host University: The Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 1 August- 1 November, 2016
1

Ⅰ. Summary
English Summary
In Ethiopia, people use a cart called Gari to transport objects and themselves. It is drawn by horses,
donkeys and mules, and the population of these animals of Ethiopia is the third largest in the world. In
conducting the investigation of Gari, I selected Alaba as a research site with the recommendation by the
local people. The purpose of this preliminary survey is to grasp the outline of Alaba Town, thecharacteristics of Gari, the relationship between equine animals and local residents, and the activities of
NGO that appeal for the welfare of animals.
In Alaba Town, I interviewed the Livestock Office, Transport Office, NGO, and so on, gathering basic
information about Alaba. I visited a repair shop involved in the manufacture of Gari, recorded the basic
structure of Gari, and carried out a traffic survey by stationary observation in order to gather suchinformation as kind and number of Gari. I surveyed the activities of NGO through interviews andparticipation in the meeting. I used English and Amharic languages during the research.
Regarding the type and structure of Gari, it could be roughly classified into three categories. This fieldsurvey allowed me to illustrate that Faras-Gari drawn by horses is an important means of transport for
women who purchased food items with large bags at a market and men who sell legitimate chat in Alaba.
In the traffic volume survey carried out on Thursday at the market, 255 Gari passed in 225 minutes, 88%of which were Ahiya-Gari and the rest are Faras-Gari. It was revealed that Ahiya-Gari drawn by donkyes
for transporting baggages plays an important role as a means of transportation for the market.
Ahiya-Gari consists of up to three traction animals, and it is important to consider the relationships
between the number of animals pulling Gari and the traction in order to reduce the load on animals. The
possible reason for the popularity of Ahiya-Gari is because the donkeys are relatively easy to obtain andcare than horse. Besides that its wide bed is convenient to transport many luggage/people to the market.
This field survey allowed me to demonstrate that Ahiya-Gari has an important role of the transportationof luggage to the market and the movement of people in Alaba. Furthermore, it was clarified that as aresult of the activities of NGO which provide places of rest for traction animals, there were opportunities
for local residents to have guidance and training for protecting the welfare of animals. Through the further
research, I will examine a Gari management system that reflects voluntary consideration for animals
when people using Gari in Alaba. I believe it enables me to examine the possibility of contributing to theimprovement of the lives of local residents and the welfare of animals.

2Japanese Summary
エチオピアではガリと呼ばれるカートを利用した、人の移動・物の運搬がおこなわれている。
このガリを牽引するのが使役動物、とりわけ、今回の調査で取り扱う動物としては、世界第 3位の個体数をもつウマ科のウマ、ロバ、ラバである。ガリの調査をおこなうにあたって、現地の人びとの薦めるアラバを調査地とした。この研究の目的は、アラバ・タウンの概要を把握するとともに、ガリの特徴、ウマ科の動物と地域住民の関係性、動物の福祉を訴える NGO の活動内容などを把握するための予備調査を実施することである。
アラバ・タウンにおいて、家畜管理局、交通管理局、NGO などへのインタビューをおこない、アラバの基本的情報を収集した。ガリの製造にも携わる修理店を訪問し、ガリの基本的構造を記録するとともに、ガリの種類や台数を把握するため、定点観測による交通調査をおこなった。
NGO の活動内容については、インタビューや、会合への参加を通じて調査した。使用言語は、
英語およびアムハラ語である。
ガリの種類や構造に注目すると、アラバには大きく分類して 3 種類のガリが見出された。ファラス・ガリ（人を乗せることを目的とし、ウマが牽引するガリ）の担う役割として、マーケ
ットで大きな袋で食料品を購入した女性と、アラバでは合法のチャットを販売する男性にとって重要な移動手段となっていることが明らかになった。マーケットでにぎわう木曜日に実施した交通量調査では、225 分のあいだに、255 台のガリが通過し、その 88％がアヒヤ・ガリ（物を運ぶことを目的とし、ロバが牽引するガリ）であり、ファラス・ガリは 12％であった。マー
ケットへの運搬手段としてアヒヤ・ガリが重要な役割を担っていることが明らかになった。
アヒヤ・ガリは最大 3 頭の牽引動物で構成されるが、ガリを牽引する動物の頭数と牽引力の関係を考慮することは、動物への負荷を軽減する際に、重要な点であると考えられる。交通量
調査で、アヒヤ・ガリが多かった理由として、マーケットに多くの荷物・人々を運搬するには、荷台の大きなアヒヤ・ガリが便利であることに加え、ロバはウマよりも安価で、入手・飼育が比較的容易であることが考えられる。
アラバでは、マーケットへの荷物の運搬・人々の移動にアヒヤ・ガリが重要な役割を担っていること、NGO の活動により、牽引動物の休息の場が提供され、報酬が支払われる代表者を通じて、地元住民への動物の福祉を守るための指導・訓練がおこなわれていることが明らかとなった。このような研究を通して、アラバでガリを利用する人々の自主的な動物への思いやりを反映したガリ運営システムを提案し、地域住民の生活向上や動物の福祉に寄与する可能性を模索する。

3

Ⅱ．Research Activity
1. Introduction
Ethiopia is said to be the country with the largest number of livestock in the world, such as bovines,
horses and donkeys that are raised for the purpose of towing (FAO 1986). There are some reports
which point out that the number of equine is the third largest in the world (BROOKE 2016). In
Ethiopia, there are many people making a living using these equines. Many people use equines fortransporting crops, agricultural machinery and equipment (Betker & Kutzbach 1989).
There are two ways to carry things in use of equines: One is to carry things directly on an animal's
back; another is to use a cart called Gari. Gari refers to a cart with wheels with the purpose of carrying
baggage and people. Gari is roughly divided into three categories: pushes things by human, carries
goods by donkey, and transports people by horses (see Photo). Although the origin of Gari is unknown,
it is said that it was popular mainly in the urban area and the area where cultivation of coffee wasprosperous particularly during the period of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941 (Michael & Abiya
1989).
In recent years, along with changes in road conditions and transportation means, automobiles andsmall three-wheeled vehicles called Bajaj are popular in urban areas, and Gari pulled by animals tends
to be decreasing. However, in the rural areas where roads as well as public transportation facilities,
including minibuses and Bajaj, have not been developed yet, a number of Gari have been used withhigh frequency when carrying loads of up to 100 kg (Betker & Kutzbach 1989).
The advantages for users of Gari are as follows; it is relatively inexpensive as facilities; it does notuse fossil fuels and is not polluted by exhaust gases; it can carry large amounts of luggage. Meanwhile,it has some disadvantages; the speed is slow; it is not suitable for long distance traveling; the risk of
traffic accidents is high. Nevertheless, it is used frequently in rural areas.
For animals used for transporting, they have some risks as follows; they are forced to work for along time; they are not treated for injuries; they suffer a heavy burden on rough roads; insufficientfeeding; they encounter traffic accidents. The above-mentioned problems have been pointed out by
animal protection groups from the viewpoint of animal welfare. Nowadays, there are internationalNGOs locally involved in various activities.
The objective of my fieldwork was to explore the use of livestock fully embedded in actual
conditions of the use of towing livestock, focusing on the mutual relationship between people andanimals concerning the use of towing livestock in Ethiopia.
Through this survey, I attempted to grasp the outline of Alaba Town which is the center of themarket in Southern Nations, Nationarities and Peoples’ Region, the main point of transportation, thefeatures of Gari, and the activities of NGO that perform activities from the viewpoint of animal welfare.
I intend to seek the ways to overcome the problems of Gari and make use of its advantages tocontribute to improving the lives of local residents and the welfare of animals in the future.

4

2. Study Area
Halaba (Alaba) Special District is located in Southern Nations, Nationarities and Peoples’ Region(SNNPR), which is 315 km away from Addis Ababa and 90 km from the regional capital, Awassa, on themain road to Arbaminch. The district has 79 rural Kebele Administrative (KA) and 5 urban KA, andKulito is the capital. The district is called “special” because it has a special status where theadministration directly reports to the regional state. The District is located east of Kembata Tembaro zone,
west of Oromia region, North, and Southeast of Hadiya zone and South East of Silte zone (IPMS, 2005).
The altitude ranges from 1,554 to 2,149 Meters Above Sea Level (M.A.S.L), but most of it is about 1,800
M.A.S.L (IPMS, 2005). The annual rainfall ranges from 857 to 1,085 millimeters. The annual mean
temperature varies from 17℃ to 20℃. (A. Jerena, 2014). Alaba Town is located at 7 ° 18'N 38 ° 05'E, an
altitude 1,726 M.A.S.L.

The map of Alaba special district.
Source; An Analysis of Factores Influencing Participation of Smallholder Farmers in Red Bean Marketing in Halaba Special
District, Ethiopia, 20145

3. Methodology
3-1. Collecting basic information about Alaba Town
I visited the offices of SNNPR’s livestock office, transport office, NGO in Alaba Town, andinterviewed thier representatives. I gathered basic information of Alaba Town, including the numberof livestock, and vehicles (e.g. cars, Bajaj and motorbike).

3-2. Participation in a local repair shop involved in manufacturing Gari
I visited a repair shop called Garage involved in manufacturing Gari as well as repairing
motorbikes, Bajaj, and bicycles. I participated in manufacturing work of Gari, recorded the scale ofGari and names of each part in Amharic, and observed the manufacturing process.

3-3. Gari traffic survey
On the main asphalt road leading to Waraita/ Sodo in the West, Shashamane and Awassa in theEast, I counted the number of Gari on a maekrt day, Thursday. On other week days, and attempted to
explore the difference in traffic between market and non-market days. As the same time, I recorded
characteristics of Gari, features of towed animals, number of passengers, types of baggage, and soon. To grasp a period of time when people go to the market and back to their homes by using Gari, I
set time zones from 11 am to 6 pm, because the market started around 10:30 am. The survey was
conducted for 3 hours in each time, on Thursday (3 times), and other week days (3 times). This roadI observed is National Route No. 7, connected with Addis Ababa, on which many trucks and tourist
vehicles frequently pass.

3-4.

Survey on activities of NGOs
BROOKE Ethiopia (NGO) is engaged in activities to protect the welfare of equines such as horses,
donkeys and mules through instructing local residents. In 2011, it launched some projects in Alaba. I
attended Urban Change Agents (UCA) meeting sponsored by BROOKE Ethiopia and received
training with its members.

64. Research Findings
4-1. Overview of Alaba Town
The number of people living in Alaba Town is 26,867 in 2015, which is equivalent to about 30%of the population of Alaba district, 117,291. Many people visit the town from its adjacent areas on
Thursday, when a large market is opend. The number of equines raised in Alaba Town was 238 for
donkeys, 99 for horses, and there were no mules. These figures were less than 1% of the equines
raised across Alaba district. In addition, resistared vehicles in Alaba Town included cars, Bajaj andmotorcycles, which were 120, 210 and 1,125 in number.

4-2-1. Alaba Gari
1) Gari (for transporting by human)This is moved and handled by human to carry luggages. It has one iron wheel, two handles, andwooden platform.

2) Ahiya-Gari (for carrying luggage)
This type of Gari is primarily designed to carry luggages, but sometimes used for people to rideon. It basically includes a woode platform with two wheels. Sometimes I observed another type of
Ahiya-Gari which has a pallet with frames rather than platform. Wooden frames were placed on theedge of the flat carriage platform. During the survey period, there were up to 16 people on board.
This Gari is drawn by 1 to 3 equines, including donkeys, horses and mules. They were usuallypaired with the same kind of animal, but there were some cases pulled by pairs of different types ofanimals.

Ahiya-Gari drawn by one donkey

Ahiya-Gari drawn by two horses

3) Faras-Gari (for transportating people)
This is a carriage for people to take a ride. It includes two wheels, and seats are installed. Three orfour passengers including driver can be accommodated. As far as I observed, this type of Gari is draw
by one horse in Alaba. Some of them had vinyl roofs, whose frames were iron (see the picture below).

7

Faras-Gari without roof

Faras-Gari with roof

4-2-2. Roles of Gari
The use of Ahiya-Gari was fully embedded in commercial activities to carry not only agricultural
products, but also woods and furniture.
In terms of roles played by Faras-Gari in Alaba, two characteristics were observed. First, women
widely used this type of Gari as a means of transportation of big bags, which included vegetables andother food items from weekly market. The second characteristic is that it contributes largely to thetransport of chats, a narotic leaf traded mostly by men. Male sellers carried chats by minibuses from
Hosaina, and Faras-Gari served to provide the market with them.

4-3. Fixed-point observation on main road
On September 15, I was involved in a fixed-point observation to count the number of Gari
passing through the main road. It was held between 12:45 and 16:30, and I recorded 255 Gari during
225 minutes (see Table). This stationary measurement allowed me to realize that Gari was always
handled by men; and women never reined. All Gari were equipped with rubber tires.
31 out of 255 were Faras-Gari (12.2%), and 224 were Ahiya-Gari (87.8%). 66.3% of theobserved Gari were going into the direction of the market, and the others travelling to Shashamane
and Awassa.
Table. Types and traveling direction of Gari

Type of Gari

Ahiya

Faras

Component
Donkey
Horse
1
0
2
0
3
0
1
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
0
1
0
2
0

1

Mule
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
total
0

Direction
Market Shashamane
30
27
75
27
37
13
3
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
6
1
154
70
15
16

No.of Gari
total
57
102
50
4
1
1
1
1
7
224
31

September 15 (Thu), 20168

4-4. About activities of NGO; BROOKE Ethiopia
30 equine owners selected as leaders from 5 Kebele participated in UCA. They cleared 4
conditions; 1) an equine owner, 2) able to teach other people, 3) a good equine owner, 4) have theability to do a good management for equine, and received instructions on how to take care of equine
animals in line with the concept of animal welfare. After the meeting, members received moneyfrom the NGO staff as reward.

5. Discussion
5-1. Gari
This fieldwork revealed that Gari in Alaba Town are roughly divided into three types. I also
observed a few cases of Ahiya-Gari which has wooden frame with the purpose of preventing stuffs
from falling down. It is a good exampe of divising the convenience for Gari users.
Gari has a structure that can connect with only one animal. When Gari owners connecting with three
animals (maximum number for Gari), two animals are connected to both sides. However, in the case ofconnecting with two animals, traction force can be biased because it connects only to either the left or
the right. When examining reduction of load for animals, ways of connecting and number of animals
are important points for consideration.

5-2. Traffic survey
The high proportion of Ahiya-Gari observed on the main road of Alaba can be attributed to pivotal
roles played by Ahiya-Gari in various commercial activities, including the distribution of agricultural
products on a weekly market day. In addition, this seems to be related to the fact that donkeys arecheaper than horses and relatively easier to get and take care.
I noticed some fragments of the risk of traffic accidents. The estimated running speed of Gari isapproximately 10 km/h on avarage. This indicates that the use of it entails the denger of collision withvehicle. In fact, some news was informed thorough the period of fieldwork, reporting crashes
particularly on roads without light in the night. I realized that some platforms and pallets of Gari’s backside and forehead of animals have something like reflector with same color and shape. These represent
equine owners’ awareness of prevention of traffic accidents.

5-3. Activities of BROOK Ethiopia
In order to protect the welfare of animals, this NGO has organized UCA meeting where its members
give guidance and training to local residents. This field survey revealed that participants of the meeting
received reward. One of the staff says that this reward is given in order to increase the motivation
among them. The survey raised a futher question of whether the NGO’s mission could be achived
without such an economic incentive.

96. Conclusion
In short, this field research in Alaba, Ethiopia enabled me to illustrate some elements of the indigious
system of Gari, which seems to echoe local people’s unique conception of care in the use of domestic
animals. In the future, I want to develop this research further and contribute to the improvement of the
lives of local residents as well as animal welfare.

Acknowledgement
I would like to appreciate the Global Leadership Training Program in Africa (GLTP), Institute for the
Advanced Study of Sustainability in the United Nations University (UNU-IAS) for giving the opportunity
to participate. I would also like to be grateful to Dr. Mamo, an on-site supervisor at Addis Ababa
University (AAU), who prepared for me to enter the research site, and Dr. Ahumed, director of theEthiopian Studies (IES) gave me the research permit and made a letter to get the residence permit. Lastly,
I would like to extend our sincerely appreciation to all the people involved in the field.

References
Agente J. K. 2014. An Analysis of Factors Influencing Participation of Smallholder Farmers in Red Bean
Maeketing in Halaba Special District, Ethiopia.
http://hdl.handle.net/11295/73937
BROOKE Ethiopia. 2016. HP
https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/ethiopia
Climate-Data. ORG. 2011. Climate; Butajira
http://en.climate-data.org/location/31830/
ESW Rural Risk Management Ehiopia. 2006. Weather Risk Management: An Ethiopian Pilot
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCOMRISMAN/Resources/ESWEthiopianPilot.pdf
FAO. 1986. FAO Production Yearbook. Vol. 40. FAO Statistic Series No. 76. Rome. FAO
http://www.fao.org/3/aap666e.pdf#search=%27FAO.+1986.+FAO+Production+Yearbook.+Vol.+40.%27
J. Betker , H. D. Kutzbach. 1989. Influence of Design on the Draught Force. Draught Animals in Rural
Development, 258-263.
http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/134382/2/PR027.pdf
Michael R. Goe. Abiya A. 1989. Development of Draught Animal Power Systems in Ethiopia. Drauht
Animals in Rural Development, 69-77.
http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/134382/2/PR027.pdf
10

Ⅲ．Reflection on the GLTP in Africa

It was a good opportunity for improving my English language skills, including reports which I
delivered every second week and planning documents. It was also good for me to have the opportunity toacquire and train what the ability not enough, such as to express and to share some situations to those who
do not have experience.

Every day was full of new discoveries, as there was no background knowledge and it was in a complete
digging situation. Investigation with Amharic language did not proceed as easily as I expected, and I was
sometimes frustrated. However, thanks to the warm support of the local people, it was possible to finish
this preliminary research without major incidents.

There are two challenges as follows,
1) In just one week after entering the country, the demonstrations in Amhara State and Oromia State
necessarily had to change the survey area and content. and also, one month later demonstrating
casualties in Oromia State.
2)

After entering the field I found several Wi-Fi spots but its communication was frequently
disconnected, and I had difficulty getting in touch with the outside, including the GLTP
secretariat.

of this experience to your future career development
I felt it is very important to communicate with local people weather I can speak local language or not.
They shared their mind and helped me in any time as a family. I understood what they need in everyday
life. I would like to learn their culture more, and contribute to their lives while cooperate with them in the
future.

I would like to appreciate for GLTP who gave me a cordial support, and who forgave me to change myresearch plan and to be late for submission of biweekly reports. I think that it is necessary to make use ofwhat I learned in the field in next survey while to think together what is the best choice with the local
people.
11