The Brickyards of Nepal
The Brickyards of Nepal
During the dry season one can see dark columns of smoke pouring from over 5oo brick factories in Nepal. The Kathmandu Valley has rich clay that is perfect for making high quality bricks, but the factories have a dark side. The brickyards of Nepal employ thousands of migrant workers from Nepal and India. Many of the migrant workers travel from the poorer villages to repay a debt that may have occurred with a third party and they carry thousands of bricks by hand or by small donkey. Children who traveled with their parents work in the brickyard all day caring bricks for a few dollars a day. Respiratory and stomach diseases are common because of poor sanitation, air pollution, and lack of clean drinking water. Because many people die working in theses poor conditions the term “Blood Bricks” has been used to describe the brickyards of Nepal.
Workers stack dried bricks into a wall which will be covered by loose dirt and heated by a coal driven fire. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
An older lady fills her basket with broken bricks before discarding them. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A 13 year old girl carries bricks by hand to be fired. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A young boy works with horses to carry bricks to be fired. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A lady takes a break from moving bricks by hand in Nepal. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
With her basket full of bricks a older lady carries bricks to be fired. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
With a mountain of broken bricks a workers returns to pick up more bricks. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A migrant worker and his son at a brick factory in Kathmandu. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A young girl lays out hundreds of bricks to dry in the sun. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
An older lady unloads her basket with broken bricks. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
Worker carry soil which is used to cover the bricks before firing is carried by hand. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A worker digs up fired bricks in Kathmandu. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
Workers who carry bricks by hand take a small break at a brick factory in Nepal. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A young boy uses a small horse to carry bricks to be fired in Nepal. (Photo By Weeks)
Workers with filled baskets carry broken bricks to be discarded. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
Under a cloud of dust from bricks workers use donkeys to carry loads of bricks. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
Under a cloud of dust from bricks workers use donkeys to carry loads of bricks. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A 13 year old girl fills her basket with broken bricks. (Photo By Billy Weeks)
A young girl carries a basket over the stacked bricks at a brick factory in Nepal. (Photo By Billy Weeks)