Carrying Wood

Walking on the street after leaving the botanical garden, we came across some women and children carrying wood and leafy vegetation on their backs. I was told that the wood was probably firewood and the foliage was likely livestock feed. The materials were collected from a nearby forest preserve that was established to enable the local people to continue their traditional foraging practices within government sanctioned areas with the goal of alleviating the strain on the surrounding forests and to preserve the biological diversity...

One of the girls saw that I was taking a picture, so she kindly stopped to pose. Although what she was carrying was obviously heavy, the basket suspended from her head appeared rather ergonomic and didn't seem to cause her any trouble...