Water Carrying Challenge

Hello!

We got to do a really fun challenge where we tried three different ways of carrying water. In order of easiest to hardest, they were:

Namlo/tumpline (which involves putting the heavy things on your back, connected with a strap across your forehead)

Hipporoller (that's not actually the brand, but you have a cylindrical container with a smaller cylinder hole down the center, where you put a circle of rope that you can pull around)

Bucket-style carrying (how we normally carry buckets), and

Balancing on your head (which is apparently the second most efficient way to carry weights, and if you're really good at it you can do it without hands! I found it hurt though, unlike the rest of them, and I couldn't see anything because it pushed my hat over my eyes.)

We carried the same orange bucket of water for all of these, except for the roller, because you can carry heavier weights in that. The tumpline was definitely the most comfortable, and Prof Banzaert says it's the most efficient way to carry weights, because it basically feels like you're carrying a backpack but that it's supported across your whole body. Your neck gets a little stiff, but overall the best way to carry a bucket of water. Plus, your hands are free and you have a lot of visibility!

The hipporoller was great because you could roll the water. It wasn't so good up or down hills though; up the hills it was really hard to pull, and down the hills it was hard to control. It had great maneuverability though. Some of the problems that we discussed in class was that it wasn't very sanitary (there's no way to clean it or get the water out), the seal will break pretty easily, and it's super expensive to ship.

The bucket-style carrying was pretty awkward because it bangs against your legs, and it makes your arm hurt pretty fast. Not recommended for any sort of long distances.

The head-carrying thing is apparently fine once you get used to it, but it just made my head hurt, and I was very uncomfortable with the amount of pressure being placed there. However, it does leave your hands free if you do it right, and balances the weight over your whole body.

It's unbelievable that many women in developing countries do this for 7 hours a day. Carrying that kind of weight can't be good for you no matter how you do it... though I do hope tump lines become more culturally accessible. Then again, I haven't tried to carrying any kind of weight for more than 2 minutes over any kind of distance. I really need to go have one of these experiences.

Monica

ps, sorry I forgot to post on Thurs :(. I did tell all of my friends about it!