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In Pictures: The brick fields of Bangladesh

Demand for cheap building materials amid rapid urbanisation comes at cost of worker exploitation and climate change.

Bangladesh, with its 160 million inhabitants, is a country in constant demand for affordable building material. Bricks have been the favoured material throughout history, and remain so until today.

By Karim Mostafa and Jenny Gustafsson

Published On 20 May 2014

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Everywhere in Bangladesh you can see them.

The high chimneys along the rivers, in the countryside, surrounding the cities, pouring grey smoke into the air. Millions of bricks are burned here. But the price is high, and paid by the workers and the environment.

Bangladesh, with its 160 million-strong population, is urbanising rapidly. The high demand for cheap building materials has lead brickmaking, an age-old tradition, to thrive. Today, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says there are about 8,000 brick kilns operating around the country.

“It’s very easy to get started with brickmaking,” says Shamim Iftekhar of the UNDP in Dhaka. “All you need is a small piece of land and 40-50 lakh taka [$6000]. In half a year, you can get five times that investment back.”

Almost all bricks are made using a 150-year-old technology; soil is mixed with water, formed into bricks using wooden forms, then left to dry in the sun before being burned in traditional kilns. The process is done almost entirely by hand.

Workers of all ages come from rural parts of Bangladesh, and often stay for months at the brickmaking fields. Payment is irregular, the work monotonous and heavy.

“This is an industry with absolutely no regulations. It’s a place where people get hurt or die but nothing happens,” says Saydia Gulrukh, an activist.

Bangladesh is hit harder than almost any other country in the world by climate change despite emitting very little greenhouse gases. But the emissions from the brick kilns hurt the environment.

The cluster of traditional kilns have been proven to hamper air quality in the country. Local groups and the government have been working to bring “clean” brick kilns and sustainable technology to the works.

“It’s a huge challenge. There is a new law just passed by the government, saying that traditional fields will not get new licenses. But it will take time. We can’t see how 10,000 industries will change overnight,” says Shamim Iftekhar.

The brickmaking only operates during the dry season, which leaves millions of workers unemployed during the remaining five to six months. Many remain jobless, others take irregular jobs as farmers or day labourers.
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Roubia, 10, works at a brick field outside Khulna in southern Bangladesh. Children form more than 10 percent of the total workforce.
Workers, wearing only their normal clothes, are exposed to the red dust, which causes bronchitis and irritates the eyes and throat.
Legally, no brick field can be put up within 5km of residential areas. Yet everywhere across the country, bricks are produced close to villages and cities.
"I do it to support my two-year-old child," says Dolly, who is from a village outside Khulna. "I have only finished two years of school, so there are no other opportunities for me."
Hashi stacks bricks on the back of a truck, before sending them off to retailers and buyers. "My name means (***)smile(***)," she says.
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The bricks are made almost entirely by hand, using a 150-year-old technology. The work is hard - accidents are common and the labour is tough. 
Shahida works at a brick field in southern Bangladesh. Many people from the countryside are pushed to urban areas for work, as farming and other rural jobs don(***)t pay well enough.
Protective gear is largely non-existent at the fields, if not for inventions like these.
Workers earn according to how many bricks they produce or carry. For someone who works fast, a week’s salary may be around 1500 taka ($20).
Every time a worker takes bricks from a pile to the kiln, they take a small token from the man shown seated. At the end of the week, the tokens are counted and their salary is paid accordingly.
The job takes a toll on their bodies. They often experience pain in their legs, back and shoulders. Many women get reproductive problems in the future after squatting for long hours when molding the bricks.
Men, women and children of all ages can be seen working at the factory.
The number of brick-makers opting for more sustainable technologies is growing, albeit slowly. Neaz Rahman, who works with UNDP in Dhaka said: "The shift to green technology takes time. We don’t have enough alternatives yet, especially not for small-scale brick production."