urban poverty in bangladesh - Gtz
urban poverty in bangladesh - Gtz urban poverty in bangladesh - Gtz
RecyCLING May 2009Toni Kaatz-Dubberke36
In a country with limited resources itis possible to make money even fromgarbage rather than just to waste itby throwing it away. The hundreds ofgarment factories in Narayanganj areproducing a lot of fabric scraps, smallpatches that remain after cutting theblanks. Unsorted, these scraps find (forvery little money) their way to the nearbycommunities, providing a sourceof income. The fibers are of good qualityand are reused. They have to besorted with a lot of patience and duediligence.One of these patient and careful sortersis Mojiton, who I meet in a storageroom close to Rally Bagan poor community.She squats on the ground in aroom filled with big heavy plastic bags.She is surrounded by small patches offabrics of all colors, which she sorts bycolor and quality. The air is filled with asmoke-like dust of fabric fibers, whichcolors my nose from inside. When herhusband died 10 years ago in an accidentat a construction site, Mojitontook responsibility for herself and hertwo daughters. One lives with her inRally Bagan. Every day she makes about60 to 65 Taka. “It is not that much, butwe can survive on it”, Mojiton says.Shaheen is sorting plastic and tin garbage.On the other edge of Rally Bagan, nextto the entrance, another kind of recyclingbusiness is going on. In front of hissmall shop, Shaheen and his older brother,Shukur, are sorting solid waste fromgarbage bags they bought from slumresidents. Piece by piece, they separatemainly plastic from tin items. Aftersorting, they sell it to a bigger dealer,usually making about 10 Taka per kg.They earn 300 Taka per day (3 Euro),on lucky days even 600. However, inthe last couple of months the price ofrecyclable materials, especially tin, isdeclining. The dealer now pays only 12to 15 Taka per kg to Shukur instead ofthe 35 Taka he used to offer. This lossis then passed on to the slum residentswho suffer from a lack of income.37
- Page 2: DisclaimerThe Deutsche Gesellschaft
- Page 5: The urban poverty blog emerged in 2
- Page 9 and 10: I. dhakaDhaka is the fastest growin
- Page 16: time. Eventually, in 1979, the comm
- Page 19 and 20: An estimated 1 to 1.5 million of th
- Page 22 and 23: An Oasis of Calm and Space in Dhaka
- Page 24 and 25: Living beside the TRACKS August 200
- Page 27: II. narayanganjNarayanganj is 17 km
- Page 30 and 31: creating space vertically March 201
- Page 32 and 33: The threat of fLAMES February 2010L
- Page 34 and 35: Although most of the walls endured
- Page 36: Looking for the Best Cook in TowN M
- Page 40 and 41: Sonu‘s story March 2010Kirthi Ram
- Page 42 and 43: Sonu‘s story told by herself Marc
- Page 47 and 48: III. jamalpurJamalpur is a district
- Page 49 and 50: For many of the urban citizens in B
- Page 51 and 52: IV. mymensinghMymensingh, located b
- Page 53 and 54: When I enter the Kalli Bari communi
- Page 56 and 57: United in Poverty August 2009Toni K
- Page 60 and 61: credits52
- Page 64: With the blog „urban poverty in b
RecyCLING May 2009Toni Kaatz-Dubberke36
Change language