People have been making clay bricks for thousands of years. India is the second-largest producer of bricks and employs an estimated 10 million people around the kilns. In North India the majority of kilns in use are the Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln, a technology introduced in the late 1800s which accounts for 70% of bricks produced in the country and involves mostly manual labor. Impediments such as high initial capital investment, land leasing limitations, and lack of nearby power grids have limited the adoption of newer kiln technology which not only would increase productivity and reduce emissions but also provide safer and less labor-intensive work environments. Even without moving to new kilns there are still some opportunities to provide mechanized equipment and transport that would better protect workers’ health and lighten some unnecessarily heavy loads.
Kids pause from playing in the brickyard where their parents work in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Hand-molded bricks drying in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
A worker stacks her dried, hand-molded bricks at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Workers shovel large pieces of coal into a machine to be broken down into smaller pieces. Coal is used to fire or bake the bricks in the kiln at this site in Barasat, West Bengal as well as at most other Fixed Chimney Bulls Trench Kilns. Smaller pieces of coal burn more efficiently and produce less emissions, but the workers breaking down the coal are still exposed directly to particles in the air.
Workers shovel large pieces of coal into a machine to be broken down into smaller pieces. Coal is used to fire or bake the bricks in the kiln at this site in Barasat, West Bengal as well as at most other Fixed Chimney Bulls Trench Kilns. Smaller pieces of coal burn more efficiently and produce less emissions, but the workers breaking down the coal are still exposed directly to particles in the air.
A large, partially excavated clay mound is located conveniently close to the brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Kids play while their mother molds bricks at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Coal is used to fire bricks in most Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kilns. Workers standing on top of the building-sized kiln insert coal fragments through small openings in the kiln’s temporary roof.
A coal shoveler relaxes after work in the workers’ village near the brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
A worker shows his pay in tokens after a day of work at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Villagers fish in the ponds behind the brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
The top of the fixed chimney of a kiln.
Workers carry dried bricks to the kiln for firing at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Workers carrying uncured bricks to the kiln to be fired are paid by the load in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Workers carry heavy loads of fired or finished bricks out of the kiln at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India. The workers are paid by load and collect tokens as they exit the kiln.
Workers carry dried bricks to the kiln for firing at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India. The workers are paid by load and collect tokens as they exit the kiln.
Workers load fired or finished bricks to carry out of the kiln at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India. The workers are paid by load and collect tokens as they exit the kiln.
Workers carry heavy loads of fired or finished bricks out of the kiln at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India. The workers are paid by load and collect tokens as they exit the kiln.
Workers carry heavy loads of fired or finished bricks out of the kiln at a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India. The workers are paid by load and collect tokens as they exit the kiln.
A girl plays in the brickyard where her parents mold bricks in a brickyard located in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Workers take a break from hand-molding bricks to pose for a picture. At a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Kids pause from playing in the brickyard where their parents hand-mold bricks in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Houses where workers stay are right next to drying bricks that have been hand-molded in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Kids pause from playing in the brickyard where their parents hand-mold bricks in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
A woman molds bricks by hand in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
A couple hand-molds bricks while their child plays nearby in a brickyard in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Water behind the brickyard in Barasat, India. The Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln is a technology introduced in the late 1800s and produces more than 70% of bricks in India.