Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2003.
Phonsavan is a small city of about 35,000 inhabitants. In many developing countries, supplying urban markets in fresh products commonly takes place in an informal manner where producers take care of delivering their goods (own account). On the above photo, the delivery vehicle is a temporary conversion of a two-wheeled tractor that commonly serves to till land. The animals are slaughtered and then the carcasses are immediately brought to the market to be cut down in accordance to customers’ demands. This form of motorization enables to support small scale freight distribution that is effective at supplying cities with fresh food from its immediate hinterland.