On the outskirts of Cairo’s bustling metropolis is Egypt’s forgotten city: a settlement of 70,000 people known as ‘the Zabbaleen’. In Arabic, the name translates to ‘people of the garbage’. The reality is just as grim as the name. When the Zabbaleen people migrated to Cairo from Upper Egypt in the 1950s, they began to gather, sort and recycle the raw waste generated by Cairo’s growing population. Five decades later, the Zabbaleen people are not just processing the garbage; they’re living in it.
The stench of waste wafts down the main street of Manshiet Nasser, one of the five main districts where the Zabbaleen live. In the early hours of the morning, the men and boys take a pick-up truck or donkey cart to the streets of Cairo to gather the inorganic waste. They bring it back to their town, where the women and girls process each piece by hand. The material is cleaned, recycled and sold to generate income.
