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Photo Found at Solar Cities

Zamalek, a lush island in the Nile, is a neighborhood of Cairo that thrives from tourism and trade. However, its’ prosperity is deeply contrasted by the impoverished areas that surround it. Only a small distance away lies an expansive slum called Manshiyet Nasser, which is characterized by overpopulated, narrow streets and poor housing. Tens of thousands of people struggle to survive here amongst the trash that flows from Zamalek. Yet, ironically, this impoverished city has become defined by the environmental action its’ community members have taken to survive. Here in Manshiyet Nasser, the people known as the Zabaleen, Arabic for “garbage collectors,” have found a way to capitalize on the trash that overtakes their streets. Amongst the urban poor, some young environmentalists have risen to action.

The Zabaleen do what private waste management systems cannot. Using animal-drawn carts, they move through the narrow streets and collect the majority of the city’s trash. As a response to this effort, an informal recycling school has been established with the help of UNESCO, complete with solar hot-water heaters. The Solar Cities Project has been created around this development and now provides an opportunity for young environmentalists living in this area to get involved and effect the entire community. Using locally available materials, the project has installed solar water heaters throughout the slum’s housing units. This shift to solar-powered energy lowers household’s carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent, helping to considerably reduce this impoverished community’s contribution to climate change, how ever small it may be.

Check out the full article at NPR