印度"牛糞餅"網上熱銷

With the holiday season in full swing, Indians are flocking to the online marketplace in droves. But there's one unusual item flying off the virtual shelves: Online retailers say cow dung patties are selling like hot cakes.

隨着假日季的到來, 印度人開始大量地網上購物。但網上出現了一樣非常奇特的商品：牛糞餅。在線零售商說牛糞餅像熱烤餅一樣暢銷。

The patties -- cow poop mixed with hay and dried in the sun, made mainly by women in rural areas and used to fuel fires -- have long been available in India's villages. But online retailers including Amazon and eBay are now reaching out to the country's ever-increasing urban population.

將牛糞與乾草混合後，在陽光下曬乾即可製成這種餅，它們大多是由農村婦女製作的，主要用來生火，長期以來在印度農村地區一直有售。但是包括亞馬遜（Amazon）和易趣（eBay）在內的在線零售商如今面向的消費羣體是印度不斷增長的城市人口。

Some retailers say they're offering discounts for large orders. Some customers are asking for gift wrapping.

一些零售商說他們對大訂單都有優惠，有些顧客還會要求禮品包裝。

"Cow dung cakes have been listed by multiple sellers on our platform since October and we have received several customer orders" since then, said Madhavi Kochar, an Amazon India spokeswoman.

亞馬遜印度區女發言人麥德哈維·可切兒說：“自10月份以來，許多賣家開始銷售牛糞餅，也接到了幾個客戶訂單。”

The orders come mostly from cities where it would be difficult to buy dung cakes, she said.

她說大部分買家是城裏人，因爲城裏的市面上很難買到牛糞餅。

In India, where Hindus have long worshipped cows as sacred, cow dung cakes have been used for centuries for fires, whether for heating, cooking or Hindu rituals. Across rural India, piles of drying cow dung are ubiquitous.

在印度，印度教徒長期以來都將牛視爲聖物，在長達幾個世紀的時間裏，不論是取暖、做飯或是舉行宗教儀式，都要用到牛糞餅。整個印度農村地區，幹牛糞堆隨處可見。

Radhika Agarwal of ShopClues, a major online retailer in India, said demand for the cow dung cakes spiked during the recent Diwali season, a time when Hindus conduct prayer ceremonies at their homes, factories and offices. On a recent day, ShopClues' website showed that the patties had sold out.

印度主要電商“店蹤”（ShopClues）的拉迪卡·阿加瓦爾說，最近隨着排燈節（Diwali）的到來，人們要在家中、工廠、或辦公室裏舉行祈禱儀式，這使得牛糞餅的需求量激增。最近某一天，“店蹤”網站顯示那天的牛糞餅銷售告罄。

"Around Diwali, when people do a lot of pujas in their homes and workplaces, there is a lot of demand for cow dung cakes," said Agarwal, referring to rituals performed during the popular festival.

提到這個盛大節日的宗教儀式時，阿加瓦爾說：“排燈節期間，人們要在家中或工作地點做多次禮拜，對牛糞餅的需求量很大。”

"Increasingly, in the cold weather, people are keeping themselves warm by lighting fires" using them, she said, adding that people who grew up in rural areas find the peaty smell of dung fires pleasant.

“天變冷了，人們也要需要更多的牛糞餅來點火取暖。”她還說道農村長大的人更喜歡聞牛糞燃燒時那種泥煤似的味道。

"It reminds them of the old days," she said.

“這讓他們回想起以前的時光。”她說。

The cakes are sold in packages that contain two to eight pieces weighing 200 grams (7 ounces) each. Prices range from 100 to 400 rupees ($1.50 to $6) per package.

牛糞餅以包裝形式出售，每包裝有兩到八個重200克（7盎司）的糞塊兒，價錢從100到400盧比（1.50到6美元）不等。

Dung cakes are also used as organic manure, and some sellers are marketing them for use in kitchen gardens.

牛糞餅還可以當有機化肥使用，有些商家把它作爲廚房菜園用品營銷。