It is 7.45am and the sun is beginning to warm Bulongwa’s icy mountain air. A Toyota Landcruiser appears at the crest of the hill, rattles down the slope, and stops at a pair of painted road signs that mark the village’s social apex.

It is the only public transport that serves Bulongwa, a speck in Tanzania’s southern highlands, and its lifeline to the outside world. But with 12 passengers sitting knee-to-knee on benches in the back, it looks full.