BANGLADESH: POOR FAMILIES LIVING IN THE SLUMS OF DHAKA COLLECT COW DUNG TO SELL AS FERTILISER AND TO USE AS FUEL FOR THEIR COOKING.

Record ID: 857301

  • Title: BANGLADESH: POOR FAMILIES LIVING IN THE SLUMS OF DHAKA COLLECT COW DUNG TO SELL AS FERTILISER AND TO USE AS FUEL FOR THEIR COOKING.
  • Date: 7th January 2003
  • Summary: (L! ) DHAKA, BANGLADESH (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) GV/PAN: OF CATTLE MARKET. SCU: COW BEING WASHED. VARIOUS: OF PEOPLE COLLECTING COW DUNG. (5 SHOTS) MV/TRACK: WOMEN TRANSPORTING COW DUNG TO MAKE COW DUNG CAKES. MV: COW DUNG BEING PREPARED TO BE MADE INTO CAKES. SCU/TRACK: WOMAN AN D YOUNG BOY TRANSPORTING COW DUNG. CU/MLV: COW DUNG BEING PREPARED. ( 2 SHOTS) SCU: (S
  • Embargoed: 22nd January 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LIFE!2
  • City:
  • Country: Bangladesh
  • Topics: Environment,Economy,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA9KW38I0QZ6H6EGIA44G9T274L
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Hundreds of poor families living in the slums of the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka make their livelihood by collecting cow dung to sell as fertiliser and to use as fuel for their cooking.
    In Dhaka's biggest Mirpur cattle market, about 200 men, women and children collect tons of cow-dung everyday to make cow dung cakes for a living.
    These poor families who live in the slums of Bangladesh's capital rely on the trade for their livelihood, selling cow dung cakes, at 100 taka each (1.70 U.S. dollars) for use as fertiliser.
    They transport the dung from the market to huts in their slums where they mould it into circular shapes and dry it out.
    "The whole day, from dawn to dusk, we collect cow dung in this market and dump those here. Mostly, we make cow dung cakes to sell to make money for our living. We sell to those who use cow dung in fish cultivation and in their fields as natural fertiliser," said Farida Begum, a woman who makes the cow dung cakes.
    And due to the lack of gas and other forms of fuel in their homes, residents of the slums also use the cow dung cakes as fuel for their cooking.
    "From different places, we collect cow dung and after drying the cakes we use those for our cooking purposes and we also sell some cakes to make money for our families," said Moni Begum.
    There are hundreds of cattle markets in Bangladesh where cow dung is available, and those in the trade also go house to house collecting cow dung from bulls and buffaloes ploughing the fields.
    Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in Asia, with a per capita income of U.S. 300 dollars per annum.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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