Project Detail: Ulingan Charcoal Factory

Contest:

LuganoPhotoDays 2015 Pro



Brand:

LuganoPhotoDays



Author:

Tanja Demarmels

Status:
Selected

 

Project Info

Ulingan Charcoal Factory

Situated next to one of the infamous dumpsites of manila, in Tondo, lies the „Ulingan charcoal factory".

For a meek salary of 40-70 Php (around 0.70 – 1.20 Euro) per day, families produce charcoal under inhuman conditions. Fire and smoke is perpetually present here. In some places nearest the charcoal factory, visibility is zero.

Aside from the charcoal industry, another source of income for the Ulingan people is the Pier 18 garbage dump site nearby. The refuse of Metro Manila goes here every day. Men, woman and children sift through tons of garbage to find something useful that can still be sold to the junk shops.

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Garbage dump site "Pier 18" is situated next to the Charcoal Factory. The goverment tried to seal it

People are searching for useful stuff in the garbage that can be sold in little junk shops.

Many of the workers in Ulingan are children.

Wood is being separated from the garbage and/or taken from nearby building sites to make charcoal.

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Lots of people suffer from respiratory illnesses, as well as heart diseases from breathing in chemic

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Inside the factory the visibility is next to zero.

Through a slow and controlled burning of the wood, charcoal is made.

Charcoal is being packed in plastic bags and sold for a few cents.

There are more than 35 illnesses in areas like Ulingan, such as cholera, typhus and tuberculosis.

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