Sweat and Dust

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of Building bricks, killed by bricks
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The earthquake in Nepal, as of 25 April 2015 was a violent one reaching 7.8 local magnitude with an epicenter about 34 km East-Southeast off Lumjung in Nepal and caused more than 8,000 deaths. It was the most violent seismic event that struck this area after 1934, when a 8.0 magnitude earthquake caused the death of about 10,600 people. After 3 years from the disaster, the production of bricks, for the reconstruction of the country is at the highest levels. Bricks demand for reconstruction purposes has led to a worsening of children labor exploitation and air pollution in the Katmandu Valley. The photo reportage “Sweat and dust” narrates the drama of this type of work, involving thousands of Nepalese families living around the kilns to manufacture and transport bricks in the most remote areas of the country. Currently in the Katmandu Valley there are about 1.000 active furnaces operating from November to May, the dry season. It has been calculated the furnaces release approximately 837,000 tons of dioxin. Bricks manufacturing is still handmade. Entire families, after mixing the clay with water and obtaining the proper consistency, use wooden moulds to shape the bricks. When the bricks get dry, they are first transported to the kilns for cooking then, once cooked, they are loaded onto the trucks that distribute them to the construction companies. Each brick can weigh up to 2 kg, and a minor can carry, on his shoulders or head, about 2,500 bricks a day, working for 12 hours and earning just about 750 rupees ($ 7). Both workers and their children often suffer from respiratory diseases and abdominal pain. Making bricks jeopardizes the health and normal development of children, exposing them to respiratory infections, damaging their spine and causing lung cancer. Moreover, the time spent under these conditions marks a dramatic interruption of their schooling, compromising any possibility of leaving the dramatic circle of poverty that characterizes these families. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.6 million Nepalese children (40% of the population), between the age of 5 and 14 work, and approximately 60,000 of them work in bricks kilns.”Sweat and dust” is a photo-reportage by Luca Catalano Gonzaga, funded by the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. (Text by Muriel de Meo).

  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Gopal, 14 years old, as he carries bricks on this head, bricks’ movement causes a lot of fine dust, provoking many harmful respiratory diseases. Each brick can weigh up to 2 kg, and a minor can carry about 2,500 bricks a day, working 12 hours and earning about 750 rupees ($ 7).
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Interior of a furnace, baked bricks are prepared for distribution to construction companies.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A load of 28 bricks being carried to the trucks, for a total weight of 56 kilos.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young worker is about to carry 24 bricks on her back, for a total weight of 48 kg.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.6 million Nepalese children (40% of the population) between the age of 5 and 14 work, and approximately 60.000 of them work in bricks kilns.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. carrying bricks inside a furnace. In the Katmandu Valley, bricks factories are located in rural and isolated areas, far from road networks and therefore also from services, shops, schools or hospitals.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Child labor is heavily exploited in this type of work. Working in the bricks manufacturing endagers the health and normal development of children, exposing them to respiratory infections, damage to the spine and lung cancer. Moreover, the time spent under these conditions marks a dramatic interruption of their schooling.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Young workers are getting ready to carry bricks on their shoulders and then load them onto the truck, ready for shipment.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young worker is about to carry 28 bricks on her back, for a total weight of 54 kg.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young bricks carrier slips and her carriage falls down. Working in the furnace endagers health, exposing workers to respiratory infections, damage to the spine and lung cancer.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Carrying bricks inside a furnace. Moving bricks causes dusts that causes severe respiratory diseases.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. After cooking, bricks are ready to be moved towards the loading area, then to be sold.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young worker from India, as he carries bricks on his head; the dust coming out of the bricks causes severe illnesses to the lungs.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young worker is about to transport 8 bricks on his head. Child labour is very much used for this kind of job, causing big damage to children health.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A woman being helped to get up, as she is carrying 24 bricks, weighing up to 48 kg.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Child labor exploitation is very common in this type of job. Often, they are immigrants coming from India.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.6 million Nepalese children (40% of the population) between the age of 5 and 14 work, and about 60.000 of them is employed in bricks kilns.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young worker as he carries bricks on his head. Many furnace workers are immigrants from India.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A young carrier being helped while carrying bricks.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Breathing in harmful dust and debris that fall over his face and body, this young boy carries the bricks to the area where they will be loaded onto the trucks.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Carrying bricks inside a furnace. Currently in the Katmandu Valley there are approximately 750 active furnaces operating from November to May, during the dry season. And it has been calculated that the furnaces release about 837,000 tons of dioxin.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Lines of mud bricks laid out.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Melisa, 7 years old, is shaping bricks into the moulds.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. A moment of relax during the transportation of bricks.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. In the Katmandu valley, brick factories are located in rural and isolated areas, far from road networks and therefore also from services, shops, shops, schools or hospitals. The bricklayers look like huge refugee camps, with small and temporary huts (called Jhyaulis), made of bricks covered with metal plates.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Carrying bricks. Each brick can weigh up to 2 kg, and a minor can carry on his shoulders or his head about 2,500 bricks a day. By working 12 hours a child earning amounts to approximately 750 rupees ($ 7).
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Family in their own home, near the furnaces.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. 6.30 am, Sutika 9 years, is waiting for her parents to arrive and start working for the making of bricks, that’s still handmade. Entire families, after mixing the clay with water and obtaining the proper consistency, use wooden moulds to shape the bricks. When the bricks are dry, they are first transported to the kilns for cooking and then, once done, they are loaded onto the trucks that deliver them to the construction companies.
  • Kathmandu valley, Nepal 2018. Twins Suani and Dipaq, one year old, during a morning walk are headed to the furnace where their parents work.

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