Category: Industry
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Burners
So why is it that so many carbon footprint calculators claim to be able to offset my 6.9 ton return flight, by persuading Atoc to further reduce her already minuscule footprint? And charge me a pittance to do so. Apart from this being bizarre and arrogant, something doesn’t add up here. Mike Berners Lee agrees:”Offsetting’ […]
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Beasts of Burden
A trip to the Kathmandu Valley to photograph the human and animal workforce in brick kilns. Mules are bred in India and purchased there to work in Nepal’s brick kilns. If they survive in reasonable condition they can be sold on as mountain pack animals at the end of the season. The mule owners bring with […]
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Work, Climate and Donkeys
For donkeys as well as people, the brick kilns in India are dangerous and unhealthy places to work – but unemployment is worse. At the RAJ kiln near Agra, accommodation for donkeys and their owners lies empty. Unseasonal rains have waterlogged the brick kilns and there’s no work for them here. Back in the […]
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Home Lives of the Donkey People
Donkey owners – problem or solution? Itinerant donkey owners working in Gujarat’s brick kilns spend 24 hours a day with their donkeys. They live, work, play and abide together. The donkeys’ welfare is entirely in the people’s hands. So who are they, and how do they live alongside their animals? I hope these photographs from […]
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Grazing
In the UK the word ‘grazing’ brings to mind lush green fields. In Madhupur village near Agra we followed donkey owner Daudayal as he took his family’s donkeys to the only grazing available to them. The land doubles as a latrine for the entire village, which lacks basic sanitation. Seeing donkeys eating human excrement turned […]
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Smartphones
Itinerant brick kiln workers use WhatsApp to stay in touch. Donkey owner-drivers working in the brick kilns of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are paid every Friday, but receive a lump sum payment at the end of the brick-making season. This allows them to buy Indian-made smartphones costing about 5,000 Rupees each. Most donkey owners are […]
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Donkey Cam
Donkeys have a blind spot immediately in front of them, but can see right round to their hind legs – though not behind their head. Simply mounting a wide angle camera on a donkey’s head won’t tell us how a donkey really ‘sees’ the world. But it can tell us something about its working life. […]
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Arjun, brick kiln boy
This is Arjun, he is a 12 year old boy working as a donkey driver in the MA Ambabpur brick kiln near Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. This story will tell you about how he spends his day. This is Arjun’s family. There are five donkey owning families living beside the kiln works. They all live […]
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Animal traction
In the UK animal traction and haulage are things of the past – relegated to the heritage industry. In India draft animals play a key role in the modern economy. Aside from their use in agriculture, donkeys and mules are essential to the construction industry. The livelihoods of many thousands of marginalised families are reliant […]
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Brick Story
India is experiencing a building boom to cope with its rapid urbanisation. Thousands of concrete-frame high rise blocks, with brick infill, can be seen rising up arund Delhi and Mumbai. Almost every one of the millions of bricks involved has been transported by donkey or mule at the brick kilns where they are made. So […]
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Modern India is built on the backs of donkeys
Gurgaon, a city outside Delhi, India, is undergoing a boom in construction fuelled by the new Metro link and Delhi’s need for young professionals. Almost every brick in the country has been carried by donkeys during its manufacture. In Gurgaon they also work in lieu of cranes. Unlike cranes the donkeys can deliver bricks and mortar […]
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Bedrooms
This is a male horse with his owner Rohtas. They work in a brick kiln. They both live in a house with plastered and painted walls and electric light. This is a mule with his owner Vedpas. They also work at the brick kiln. The mule also has a nice bedroom, though not quite as […]