ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mehariste

Mehariste is a type of traditional system in which a group of people comes together to share the cost of owning and caring for animals, specifically camels, in order to make traveling and trading easier.

Imagine you want to go on a long journey across the desert, but you don't have a camel to ride on and carry your goods. The cost of buying and caring for a camel all by yourself might be very expensive, and it might be hard work to take care of the camel properly on your own. This is where mehariste comes in!

In mehariste, a group of people create a "pool" of camels and share the cost of buying and caring for them. Each member contributes a certain amount of money or work to the pool, and then they take turns using the camels for their travels or trading. This way, everyone gets to use the camels when they need them, and no one person has to shoulder the entire cost and responsibility of owning a camel.

It's like if you and your friends wanted to buy a big toy together, but none of you had enough money to buy it alone. So you all put your money together and then take turns playing with the toy!

Mehariste has been used for many years in places like Africa and the Middle East, where traveling long distances across harsh terrain is common. It helps people work together and share resources, making life a little bit easier for everyone involved.