Zebu cart

It's early morning at the Sambirano crossing, there's a bit of a traffic jam, caused not by motor vehicles but by ox-powered carts transporting freshly harvested crops from the countryside into the central marketplace of Ambanja.

These humble two-wheeled vehicles are as relevant today as they were hundreds of years ago in providing an indispensable transport by farmers in distributing their agricultural crops.

Innumerable zebu carts can be seen in and around the town Ambanja, the region, and across Madagascar.

Dozens of zebu cart workshops exist in Ambanja.

One typical workshop, run by Mr Theodore, can be found in the town centre. His workshop employs six skilled woood workers and welders assembling about 50 carts per year, all in the same design and model. Everything is done manually without electricity. A cart takes about a week to produce and costs 1,800,000 (about USD 400).

The tradition of these eco-friendly vehicles, keeps cars and pollution to a minimum.