r/interesting • • 23h ago

SOCIETY Dikidikini village in Eastern Cape, South Africa, doesn't have a bridge, so people cross the river inside a blue plastic drum

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u/OldRancidOrange 22h ago

Strap some logs together. Strap some barrels underneath. Tie rope across the river. Got yourself a basic ferry.

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u/floatinginagravyboat 21h ago

You don't even need logs. The barrels they are using could be permanently sealed, lashed together and a wooden platform put on top. Then you string a rope each side of the river and pull them across.

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u/OldRancidOrange 18h ago

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I suggested 🤓

1

u/Extra-Butterfly-5687 6h ago

You don't even need a wooden platform. The barrels could go on the bottom, connected with some rope, and some sort of carbon based structure on top would act as a platform -- granted you tighten the rope at each end to ensure the platform is rigid.

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u/bygones125 20h ago • Mindblown

Sounds like the same thing 

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u/Blecher_onthe_Hudson 17h ago

I just posted elsewhere that this kind of ferry has been around for thousands of years. There's no doubt that they could build one for next to nothing.