Near the village of Dinaran in the mountainous border region of north-west Iran’s Chaharmahal-va- Bakhtiari province, Gholam Hossein and his family farm land beside a deep river canyon.
Twice a year their work is disturbed by the arrival of tribes of Bakhtiari nomads moving their herds of sheep, goats and other livestock from their winter quarters to their summer quarters each spring, then back again each autumn, a journey of 400 to 500 kilometers in each direction.
With the nearest river crossing 15 kilometers away, Hossein and his seven sons decided a few years ago to offer these nomads a quicker way of getting to the other side by building a cableway using steel hawsers and pulleys.
Hossein's system can transport up to 1,000 livestock daily. He charges a third of a US dollar for each sheep or goat carried, with people and their possessions transported for free.
“These nomads usually cause damage to our farmland. Using our pulley system both protects our land and reduces their travel time by at least one day. It’s a win-win business,” Hossein said.
The Other Hundred is a not-for-profit photo book by the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) to provide a counterpoint to the mainstream media consensus about some of today's most important issues. The book introduces readers to the vast majority of people, ideas, places and cultures simply ignored by most major media publications. Through an annual series of books, each focusing on a particular subject, The Other Hundred provides an alternative and refreshing view on everything from people and their homes to performers, chefs and authors.
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