Category: Animals
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Work, Climate and Donkeys
For donkeys as well as people, the brick kilns in India are dangerous and unhealthy places to work – but unemployment is worse. At the RAJ kiln near Agra, accommodation for donkeys and their owners lies empty. Unseasonal rains have waterlogged the brick kilns and there’s no work for them here. Back in the […]
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Home Lives of the Donkey People
Donkey owners – problem or solution? Itinerant donkey owners working in Gujarat’s brick kilns spend 24 hours a day with their donkeys. They live, work, play and abide together. The donkeys’ welfare is entirely in the people’s hands. So who are they, and how do they live alongside their animals? I hope these photographs from […]
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Grazing
In the UK the word ‘grazing’ brings to mind lush green fields. In Madhupur village near Agra we followed donkey owner Daudayal as he took his family’s donkeys to the only grazing available to them. The land doubles as a latrine for the entire village, which lacks basic sanitation. Seeing donkeys eating human excrement turned […]
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Donkey Cam
Donkeys have a blind spot immediately in front of them, but can see right round to their hind legs – though not behind their head. Simply mounting a wide angle camera on a donkey’s head won’t tell us how a donkey really ‘sees’ the world. But it can tell us something about its working life. […]
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Animal traction
In the UK animal traction and haulage are things of the past – relegated to the heritage industry. In India draft animals play a key role in the modern economy. Aside from their use in agriculture, donkeys and mules are essential to the construction industry. The livelihoods of many thousands of marginalised families are reliant […]
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Brick Story
India is experiencing a building boom to cope with its rapid urbanisation. Thousands of concrete-frame high rise blocks, with brick infill, can be seen rising up arund Delhi and Mumbai. Almost every one of the millions of bricks involved has been transported by donkey or mule at the brick kilns where they are made. So […]
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Modern India is built on the backs of donkeys
Gurgaon, a city outside Delhi, India, is undergoing a boom in construction fuelled by the new Metro link and Delhi’s need for young professionals. Almost every brick in the country has been carried by donkeys during its manufacture. In Gurgaon they also work in lieu of cranes. Unlike cranes the donkeys can deliver bricks and mortar […]
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Bedrooms
This is a male horse with his owner Rohtas. They work in a brick kiln. They both live in a house with plastered and painted walls and electric light. This is a mule with his owner Vedpas. They also work at the brick kiln. The mule also has a nice bedroom, though not quite as […]
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A complicated story about donkeys and people
Many NGOs develop problematic ‘mission creep’ as they attempt to burrow down and address the causes – rather than just the symptoms – of the problems they were set up to tackle. A case study from the work supported by the Donkey Sanctuary in Romania lays bare the dilemma; sticking to a clear mission can […]
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A simple story about donkeys and people
With thanks to Mwende, Beth, Lydia, Jadida & The Donkey Sanctuary Aid policy and interventions can raise very complex issues but in drought ridden Mwingi in NE Kenya the role of donkeys is really very simple. Without donkeys, people and their livestock cannot survive. Donkeys form the vital final link in the distribution of water, […]
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Donkeys and ‘resilience’
‘Resilience’ is the latest buzzword in social, environmental and international development circles. Donkeys are known for their physical resilience in the face of drought and abuse by humans but they can also help women’s resilience in poor communities. Tumme Konton, her husband Sisay and their children live in a tiny settlement called Adankonsole, near the […]
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Donkeys in Ethiopia
‘A woman without a donkey – is a donkey’ Ethiopian saying There are 6.2 million working donkeys in Ethiopia. When they are fit and healthy they carry water to villages and goods to market. In both rural and urban areas they form the backbone of the local transport and haulage system and provide an income for […]