Day 3. Dharavi

After our yummy breakfast we headed to another slum, Dharavi, to learn about waste management. Dharavi is often described as the largest slum in Asia, housing close to 1.5 million people (!). On the way there we picked up Vinod Shetty, director of ACORN India. This organization educates rag pickers and trains them in scientific methods of waste handling, segregation and recycling (Note: rag-pickers are those who pick up the tons of garbage littering the streets in Mumbai in order to recycle them. Most of them are women and small children).

I was not sure what to expect from Dharavi. In my mind I thought it was going to be very similar to the first slum we visited, extremely impoverished and somewhat hopeless. The idea of an organized waste management system in a slum was something my mind was having a hard time comprehending. We got off the bus and followed Mr. Shetty along muddy alleys and narrow roads to visit the many waste recycling sites.

I was very surprised to see so many men working in these small and crowded shops, recycling cardboard, plastic, metal from car parts, and a myriad of other things I can’t even remember. The rag pickers collect all the recyclable materials from the garbage around the city, bring it to these shops were they get processed and then sold to either paper or plastic companies for a very small profit. The men not only work, but also live in these shops, making the system sustainable. You’d never imagine to see a system like this in a crowded slum were most (if not all) people lack basic needs and most live on an income of $2-3 per day. Despite there being some level of organization and an income generating system, workers still work in precarious conditions (barefoot, no eye/hand/ear protection), and the money earned from the Dharavi recycling industry will never allow these people to move out of the slums or improve their life and health conditions. As impressed as I was with this slum, the current system is never going to allow social change.

Once again, what being done is not enough to help the community of Dharavi. My mind is still trying to comprehend the idea that earning an income is not enough to fight poverty. Earning a few dollars a day will not improve the lives of future generations. A sustainable system that allows the community to set solid foundations (ie. access to education, health care, stable incomes) will enable the change that is needed.