Original subtitles

(dramatic music)

The racing cyclists of Burundi

are not afraid to take risks.

(truck honks)

Whoever wants to transport goods in Burundi

does so by bike.

Distances are short,

Burundi is one of the smallest countries in Africa.

(dramatic music)

It's very dangerous and fatal

for the cyclists to hold onto the trucks.

(dramatic music)

Burundi lies in the heart of Africa.

The main traffic route

winds itself from the Rwandan border

down to Tanzania.

The first section of the route

leads from Kayanza to Bugarama.

Burundi is poor,

even though the land is fertile.

On the Northern plateau,

mostly bananas are grown

dozens of different types.

Bananas are the staple food in Burundi.

At the outskirts of Kayanza

the biggest city in this region

the farmers sell them to middleman.

Twice a week Pamphil Nazaghwe

does his bulk buying here.

He is a professional beer brewer

a banana beer brewer.

Banana beer is Burundi's national drink.

Tasian Manirakitsa is responsible for the transport.

Farmer Pamphil does not dare to cycle

the loaded by himself.

Even if you're an experienced rider,

you put your life at risk.

First, I ask for the price

then I buy three types, just three,

a sweet type of banana,

a flowery one

and one that's less deer.

Obviously the mixture is important,

the beer is supposed to be tasty.

I know nothing about brewing

that's why I'm a driver

and I'm happy to be able to transport Pamphil's bananas

that's how I struggle along.

Whenever he is not transporting bananas

Tasian offers rides on his bicycle taxi.

(dramatic music)

Tasian has loaded eight clusters onto his bike

together they make up for 160 kilos.

He has to transport them 15 kilometers.

Luckily, the first part is down hill.

(dramatic music)

Three kilometers from his destination

there is a long ascent

now Tasian must really pedal.

Tasian is 22 years old,

he never went to school.

Riding my bike is all I'm good at,

I never did anything else.

I don't even want to,

except if I found less tiring work.

I definitely don't wanna be carrying

anything on top of my head

like the women do.

It's exhausting to pedal,

yes but carrying things on my head, no way.

After 45 minutes

Tasian reaches his destination,

the banana beer brewers village.

(foreign language)

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in Africa,

owning a bike is worth a great deal here

but Tasian must already support a wife

and two kids in his early twenties.

How can I save money with a job like this?

It's just about enough to sustain my family

and myself, nothing more.

Look, I can't even afford new trousers,

I'm no dreamer

this job holds no future whatsoever.

Pamphil has been brewing banana beer, umubira

on the farm next to his house

in his inn for 15 years now.

(foreign language)

He lets the bananas ripen in a pit

for another week.

The farmer can only process the bananas

if they have developed enough sweetness,

otherwise the fermentation process

might not take place properly.

Bananas with a thick skin

are especially well-suited for producing banana beer.

(foreign language)

His own family and a few workers from the village

assist Pamphil with the production.

(foreign language)

The workers use fresh cleaned hay

to help them squeeze out the liquid.

The hay also creates Pamphil's banana beer special flavor.

My life as a beer brewer is a good one, really.

I make good money

and I'm able to pay the workers wages.

I'll never be rich, of course.

I mean, we can't afford to buy new shoes

and things like that,

but I don't have to go around stealing things.

The family has enough to eat

and we can send the kids to school.

Nobody tells me what to do

and I don't need to go chasing after my money,

I am my own master.

It's still only banana juice,

to turn it into beer

the liquid has to be stored for a few days.

The Brewer's yeast

allows for fermentation.

It takes two days for the beer to be ripe.

Two bottles of this

and everything spins round.

But right now it's unfermented,

it doesn't make you tipsy.

But the beer Pamphil serves in his inn does.

He doesn't know the alcohol percentage,

he never measured it.

Bicycle courier Tasian

drinks only after the work has been done.

Drunk driving much too dangerous

when you're on the road of the racing cyclist.

Here in the North

not only bananas are grown

but also coffee, tea and rice.

(soft piano music)

The road leading to the banana beer brewers village

continues on leading South

to Bujumbura the capital city of Burundi,

it's 100 kilometers

and it's up and down the hill

the whole way.

(soft piano music)

The roads serves as a transit route

between Rwanda and Tanzania.

Antoine Kabura has been driving it for 10 years

with his truck.

Normally, he only drives during daytime,

driving at night would be too risky.

The roads are all right,

but much too narrow

sometimes not even six meters wide

oncoming traffic often poses problems.

You must always avoid the potholes

and this many bends.

Luckily I'm a good driver

but for a main road

it's definitely too narrow.

Antoine arrives at Gitega

the second largest city of Burundi

with 45,000 inhabitants.

(upbeat music)

Alex Iiradikunda works as a reporter

for the local radio station, Humuriza.

Her job is to report on the traffic

which primarily means the situation for the cyclist.

Tell me, what are the difficulties?

For a cyclist,

the trucks are worse

they make life difficult for us.

I hear this over and over again,

they complain about the trucks.

It really is a tough and exhausting job.

Not to mention the bike fees,

their numbers are increasing

it's bad when the bike is gone

and don't forget the accidents and injuries.

Gitega situated in the center of the country

used to be the capital

of the kingdom of Burundi.

It was also the administrative center

at the turn of the century,

from the 19th to the 20th century

when Burundi was a German colony.

Today, the city is an important traffic junction.

(upbeat music)

26 reporters work for radio Humuriza.

Alex is done with her report on the cyclists.

It's difficult for the cyclists here

even though it's just transporting other people

but for those who transport bulky goods

it's even more difficult,

but they have no choice

their wives and kids need something to eat.

(upbeat music)

Another 60 kilometers to Bujumbura

uphill, downhill.

Antoine Kabura could drive faster

but he knows what's happening behind him

so he doesn't wanna risk an accident.

Whoever wants to save time and energy

holds onto his truck,

Antoine finds this really annoying.

(upbeat music)

What they're doing poses a lethal hazard

not only for them,

but also for us truck drivers.

I often have to abruptly dodge

due to approaching traffic

or because of a pothole.

The cyclists that are holding onto the truck

can't see it coming

they're surprised by it and crash.

Terrible, I often see it in the rear mirror, some die.

I think they should stop it,

it's prohibited to.

Eric Nitsitunga has been transporting bananas

from the North to the capital for five years.

He fixed 14 clusters to his carrier

that's about 250 kilos,

a lot even by Burundian standards.

I have to tie the bananas to the carrier

in such a way

that the center of gravity lies in the middle.

One mistake and I would lose my balance

in the curves and crash.

I also have to make sure

that the bananas don't get bruised.

Even Eric can't resist the temptation

to let himself be pulled up the hill,

it doesn't always turn out well.

Some roads sections are unpaved,

difficult to drive for the truck drivers.

There are some drummers

with their heavy instruments along the road near Gishora

their destination is a nearby hill.

It is considered the cradle

of the Burundian art of drumming.

(fast paced drum music)

They used to perform before the Kings

today they play the drums

for whoever pays

and to preserve peace.

Just a few years ago

Burundi saw the end of a long civil war.

(fast paced drum music)

The 74 year old Antime Barashankaje

is the leader of the Gishora master drummers.

I became a drummer

because were ancestors were drummers.

My great-grandfather,

my grandfather, my father

they all drummed for the Kings

this tradition must survive.

(fast paced drum music)

The police have been checking more often

on the Burundi highway lately.

A welcome opportunity

for the street vendors

to offer their products,

a nuisance for the drivers.

Security check, the horn,

blinkers and headlights.

I check the papers and inspect the vehicles,

it's all about increasing safety on the road.

The officer's also punish cyclists

that hold on to trucks.

Whoever gets caught

must pay a fine.

Eric the courier,

puts up with that.

I think the cyclists

should really stop holding onto our trucks,

too many accidents happen because of it

it should be banned.

The police should enforce it

or the cyclists

can fix a little engine to their bikes

for going up hill.

Eric heard the policeman's whistle

just in time to let go.

The Burundi government

has almost doubled the amount of traffic policemen

over the last years.

Too many accidents

occur on the roads in Burundi

also due to technical defects

but the main problem are the racing cyclists.

More actions should be taken against

this cyclists holding onto trucks,

it's simply too dangerous.

It is prohibited,

but they just won't respect us.

Another 40 kilometers to Bujumbura,

the closer you get to the capital,

the busier the narrow road becomes.

(upbeat music)

The Kibira National Park

with its 400 square kilometers

runs along a small side road.

Once the splendid mountain forest

used to be the King's holy hunting grounds.

(upbeat music)

The Batwa live in a small village

close to the national park in Busikera.

Up until a few years ago,

the hunters and gatherers

lived in the midst of the rainforest.

In 2007, the government decided to transfer them

to the area next to the main road.

Viola Idivumana is 40 years old

and has eight kids.

I was born and raised in the jungle,

this life is not easy.

We have to collect wood

and have to fetch water from far away

that's exhausting.

But I enjoy the pottery,

I learned it when I was a kid

watching my mom work

now I can sustain my family with my pottery.

I'm teaching my kids how to do it too

that's why it's going so well for us here.

Next door the men sit together and carve wood

they have lost their traditional hunting grounds

since the resettlement,

but being so close to the main road

opens new opportunities for them and their families.

They can now sell their carvings and pottery to travelers.

(upbeat music)

About 500 people live in Busikera

more than half of them are children.

Apart from their handicrafts,

the Batwa are farmers

and breed cattle on the land

they were granted by the government.

(upbeat music)

The next stage on the cyclist road

leads from Bugarama to the capital city, Bujumbura.

Already early in the morning,

the first cyclists are on their way to supply the markets.

The Bugarama cyclists

are famous throughout the whole country,

they transport the heaviest and bulkiest goods

and are the fastest riders.

Bugarama situated at the Southern tip

of the Kibira National Park

is a traffic junction.

Two federal roads meet here

and unify to lead to the capital of Burundia.

Bicycle courier, Eric lives near Bugarama.

The bananas here are cheaper than in the capital.

Today, one cluster cost 8,000 Burundian Francs

about four euros.

Together with his girlfriend,

Eric lives in a small house

right on the road to Bujumbura.

They have no children yet

they want to wait

until Eric has found a less dangerous job.

(suspenseful music)

The 200 kilo load

literally pushes Eric downhill.

He quickly reaches

speeds of up to 60 to 70 kilometers an hour.

He can't apply the brakes,

his tires would burst.

If the roads are wet,

you're likely to slip,

but since he can't apply the brakes

he must wait for the next assent

until then it's brace yourself

and hope for the best.

Nobody knows just how many accidents occur

and how many cyclists are actually involved.

There is no such thing as traffic statistics in Burundi

often the poor condition of the bikes is responsible.

The last ascent up to Bujumbura is tough

without help no one would manage to move forward.

And so a new professional emerge,

the pushing assistant.

The men earn 10 cent for the 15 minute tour.

At the end of the long ascent

a little shop offers food and beverages.

Eric doesn't always have enough money

to buy something for himself

after this exhausting ascent.

Lucia, the shop assistant knows Eric

and puts it on the tab

if he can't pay,

she feels for the cyclists.

(foreign language)

This work takes up a lot of energy,

you need to be really strong

in order to do this

especially if you have to push the fully loaded bike uphill,

often it weighs more than 200 kilos

so you need lots of energy

that's why I eat mainly carbs for example,

corn and I drink hot milk every day.

From here to Bujumbura

is another 15 kilometers

and it's only downhill.

Eric trust his steering abilities,

he doesn't have much choice.

He already had quite a few accidents,

but up to now

he only suffered some bruises and bone fractures.

(soft piano music)

Arrival in Bujumbura

the cyclists have to push their way

through the traffic of this lively metropolis.

The first shop Eric is delivering to

lies at the far end of the city.

There are many little shops

and restaurants along the capital streets.

Most of them can't afford professional advertising

that's why they hire artists like Clovis Malamwi

the 26 year old makes a living of that.

I'm an artist

but if people ask me,

I'd also do ads for them.

I take between 100,000 and 150,000 Burundian Francs

for such a picture,

it's not bad.

That would amount

to the equivalent of 50 to 75 euros.

Bujumbura is the largest city in Burundi

it is the economic center of the country

around 400,000 people live here.

It takes a very specific technique

to park the bicycle in such a way

that it doesn't fall down

with the 200 kilo load on it.

Five times a week,

Eric delivers two banana clusters

to the little shop.

For each cluster,

he gets 12,000 Burundian Francs

that's six euros

two euro of an income remain.

(foreign language)

Here in the heavy traffic of the city

the challenge for Eric

is of a different kind

compared to his cross-country ride.

It's not about steep ascends,

downhill racing or the struggle with truck drivers

and the police.

The difficulty lies in maintaining the balance

and being careful not to get hit by other vehicles

because then he'd fall.

(upbeat music)

The Sioni market is in the Northwest of the capital,

85 out of 100 Burundians work in agriculture

and they all try to sell their surplus

on the markets.

Since the main market in the city center burnt down in 2013

the number of traders and customers

at the Sioni market has doubled.

One of the reasons being

the government banning the street trade.

Everyone had to turn to the remaining markets.

Alice Ndaiye is 42 years old,

she has been working as a market woman for 10 years now.

When the main market burnt down,

she not only lost both of her stands

but all her goods went up in flames too

she had to start again from scratch.

I have four kids and no husband

when the market burnt down and the hard times began,

he just ran off,

he never gave me any money to feed the kids and myself.

I had to take out a credit loan

that helped us along

and I was able to build up a new stand here.

Eric delivers bananas to Alice as well,

today he's running late due to the rain.

Normally he would get 15,000 Burundian Francs

for a cluster of bananas.

Would you lower the price a bit,

I can only pay 10,000.

Today, Alice pays Eric five euros per cluster

which makes one euro an hour

for Eric to keep.

With the thousands of cyclists in Burundi

there's always something to repair or to patch.

You'll find bicycle repair shops everywhere in Burundi

especially near the markets

where most cyclists deliver their goods.

Aleksandra Taseus has been the boss here for five years.

Most bicycles in his shop come from China

and break down easily.

These bikes are basically like all the others,

we have to reinforce the carrier with iron bars,

good tires are important though.

Bike courier Eric also comes here

if he has enough money to afford new tires.

The work is being done fast here

and he gets some good advice as well.

Almost 100 mechanics work for Aleksandra.

Some customers live nearby

but most of them come from far away for example,

from Gatunga or Bugarama.

Some are foreigners coming from the Congo

to have their bikes repaired here,

they trust me.

Eric appears unruffled by the fact that

he has to spend a portion of his narrow income

in order to keep his bike in good shape.

It's very important to change tires

they were totally worn out.

If there's rain like today,

you can easily slip and fall.

The tires burst more easily too

especially when you break.

I already patched the tube four times,

it's just too dangerous.

Eric cycles back to Bugarama on new tires.

The Burundi racing cyclists

have divided up the district.

There are those who cycle in from the North

and go back into the evening

the others serve the Southern route.

The Burundi highway

runs along the banks of Lake Tanganyika

for 200 kilometers heading South

right up to the Tanzanian border.

Instead of bananas,

people grow lots of oil palms here.

They are being transported on bicycles as well,

a bunch can weigh up to 50 kilos.

The landscape in the South of Burundi

is less hilly than in the North.

So the bike couriers can travel greater distances

up to 100 kilometers per day.

If I don't have so much to carry,

I enjoy my work.

Like today, that's fine

I'm bringing the fruits to a palm oil factory,

I then load the field oil cans

and take them to the market

where they're sold.

The job is all right

so long as you hold the road well and

don't have to worry about crashing in the curves

it's then I enjoy the work.

Faustine Dabazanye palm grove

is situated directly on the main road

together with his son, Patrick

he looks for ripe fruits,

which he can later process

in his Palm oil factory,

which is 10 kilometers away.

Patrick is a gifted climber.

Even though we are next to the lake

the soil is dry and sandy,

which is not good for the palms

they don't grow properly

and bare little fruit.

But we are lucky,

our soil contains many nutrients

in spite of the nearby lake

that's why our palms are so tall and strong

and the oil tastes well too.

Only when the fruits

have taken on an orange red color

are they ripe for harvesting

and are easy to pick.

(upbeat music)

Patrick transports the crop

from his father's palm oil grove

to the oil factory himself.

They have to be kept there

for a few days

before they can be processed to oil.

Patrick much prefers climbing up the trees

to carrying the heavy load on his bike.

(upbeat music)

I still go to school

and I only do this

in my spare time

to earn some money.

Later I wanna take on a proper job

but right now I do both

work as a bike courier and study.

(slow drum music)

Lake Tanganyika

is the second largest lake in Africa,

it shapes the landscape in Southern Burundi.

The river bank is lined

with little fishing villages along the road.

Neo Gabo slowly comes to life.

(upbeat music)

At 6.00 a.m. the men return from fishing

they spent the whole night out on the lake.

Today, they didn't catch much

the waves were too high.

For a few years now

they're only allowed to fish every second week

in order to protect the fish stock.

Cesar Sabator has been a fisherman for eight years now.

I believe the fishing restrictions

are a good thing,

it gives us fishermen a rest

and we get to spend more time with our families

and the fish can breed in those seven days

that's a good thing.

(upbeat music)

After school Patrick earns some extra money

working as a bicycle courier,

he doesn't have to sustain a family

so he feels less pressure.

The bike courier has arrived at Faustine's palm oil factory

the production is in full process.

The ripe fruits are loosened from the bunches

and are cleaned,

first of all.

The oil manufacturer has meanwhile

gotten used to the traffic

and the a do on the adjacent road.

Faustine has been in the palm oil business

for three years now.

The oil palm means a lot to us

it always gives us oil,

which we can use for cooking.

We use the palm fronds as broomsticks

the remaining pips

we use to make soap or shampoo

the fiber is also a by-product

help to light a fire.

An oil palm provides everything we humans need.

About 20 palm oil farmers

have joined in a cooperative

and operate the old squeezing machine together.

Everyone can process his own fruit there.

Faustine is checking the production flow,

the water cools the machines

so the oil doesn't go rancid.

(upbeat music)

Plenty families make their living from this,

their existence as well as the economy

of the whole country

depends on the timely deliverance of fresh supplies.

And the racing cyclists of Burundi

will take care of that.

(upbeat music)