Donkeys: Kapchorwa’s bicycles

Apr 03, 2009

Its long head is roving up and down and its tail wagging left and right. The back provides a safe haven for firewood and jerrycans of water. With a grace of purpose, a donkey climbs the jagged dusty hills of Kapchorwa. They are the area’s beasts of burd

By Joel Ogwang

Its long head is roving up and down and its tail wagging left and right. The back provides a safe haven for firewood and jerrycans of water. With a grace of purpose, a donkey climbs the jagged dusty hills of Kapchorwa. They are the area’s beasts of burden.

The donkey’s ancestor once carried Jesus into Jerusalem, the day Christians commemorate tomorrow, Palm Sunday.

“They are used in Kapchorwa the way others use bicycles,” says Musa Kipsok, a farmer in Sipi sub-county. “Nearly every family owns at least one.”

In this part of Uganda where the terrain is undulating, the donkeys become the cheapest and most convenient means of transport. They ferry farm products, firewood and water.

Most, if not all, donkeys in Kapchorwa came from Kenya. The Turkana sell or exchange them for food to Ugandans, mostly the karimojong. From there, dealers sell them to farmers in Kapchorwa. Bernard Nambale, one of the dealers, says a female donkey (jenny) costs sh80,000 and a male one (Jack) goes for sh60,000.

“Unlike cattle, which, in addition to work, are kept for their milk, meat and hides, donkeys’ products are not a delicacy in Uganda, though there is flourishing trade in donkey meat and milk in Karamoja and other pastoral tribes. A jenny will give birth at most once a year,” Nambale adds.

Donkeys are easy to keep because they feed on grass like many domesticated animals.

They belong to the horse family and were first domesticated around 3,000 BC, about the same time as the horse, and have since spread around the world. There are about 44 million donkeys in the world today with a quarter of them in China, followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia and Mexico.

A jack can be cross bred with a female horse to produce a mule. A male horse can be crossed with a female donkey (jennet or jenny) to produce a hinny. The African wild ass was domesticated around 4,000 BC. By 1,800 BC, it had reached the Middle East, where the trading city of Damascus was referred to as the “City of Asses” in archeological texts. It was an important pack animal for people living in the Egyptian and Nubian regions as they could easily carry 20 to 30% of their own body weight and also be used in farming.

According to Peter Wavamunno, an official in the ministry of agriculture, donkeys were brought into Uganda for use in agriculture about 86 years ago. Capt. Frederick Lugard, a British colonial officer, introduced them in West Budama to increase cotton production. He estimates that there are about 20,000 donkeys in Uganda today.

Donkeys are drought resistant, efficient, hard working and easy to maintain. A mature one weighs between 125-150kg. This, however, depends on its age, size, nutrition and health. A donkey that gets enough rest will carry more loads depending on the gradient of the terrain, speed and the bulkiness of the load. They move faster than oxen and can work for long hours without tiring. “The average area it can cultivate is 4.5 acres, with just under 0.3 acres cultivated by a single donkey and 4.2 acres by donkey pairs,” says Alex Chemonges, a farmer.

In Kapchorwa, farm sizes where donkeys are employed in cultivation range from 0.5 to 5 acres and about 80% of the produce is used for subsistence con sumption.

Compared to the oxen, a donkey can cultivate 0.5 acres a day while working for five hours. Oxen, on the other hand, can work the same area in four hours, while resting at intervals of 10 minutes every two hours.

Donkeys are gentle animals that keep their skin smartly clean. They prefer resting under tree shades to wobbling in the mud.

Unlike a tractor, a donkey can be used in mountainous areas because it cannot easily slip since it is sure-footed.

According to Simon Chemarum, an official in Suam sub-county, Kapchorwa, a donkey can age without suffering from any illness. Under favourable conditions, this animal can live for over 30 years.

Over 80% of the donkey population in Uganda is employed in agriculture. However, a donkey has to be trained from childhood before performing any task. “ “Otherwise it becomes violent when, one day, you attempt to load it,” Chemarum adds.

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