Porterage is thought to be the job of strong men but there are women who pursue it for their livelihood. On the Te Canal, besides men, there are many female porters.

These women have had the job for 10 to 30 years. Photo: Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nhieu, 58, from District 8, has been a porter for more than 30 years.

They chose this job because it is simple. Photo: Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ha, 45, from District 8 is loading a bag of fertilizer from the truck.

Every day they have to carry around 20 tons of fertilizer on their back. For each bag of fertilizer they carry, they are given a card.

But sometimes they do not have enough fertilizer to carry, so they earn nothing.

 The distance from the truck to the boat is short but dangerous.

Some women cannot stand this job for a long time.

They do not have any kind of insurance.

The job becomes harder when they get older.

It is easy to fall down with a 50 kg of fertilizer on your back.

Mrs. Ha and her husband have been fertilizer porters for more than 20 years. They have three children. The family lives in a small inn in District 8.

Though the work is hard, they just wish to have fertilizer to carry each day.

Mrs. Nhieu is the most senior female porter here.

They earn about VND80,000 to VND150,000 ($4-$7) a day.

Mrs. Le Thi Thanh Thuy, 47, combs her hair before returning home to her husband and children. She has done this job to feed her sick husband and two children for many years.

On an old bike, Mrs. Nhieu goes home in a good mood because she was able to carry a lot of fertilizer today.