#chureca

[the-peopleimeet]

" You wouldn't imagine what things you can find here! We recycle our whole life and trust me, we have seen it all. People are able to dump anything." "In general we are looking for scrap metals. Copper, aluminum and sometimes there is some bronze too. Most of us collect plastic and glass. Pulling out pieces of glass is the hardest job because you keep cutting your hands all day long ... and it doesn’t worth so much. Maybe, from about 10-15 kilos, you could get a dinner in the downtown. We of course don’t worry about the food here, there are always some leftovers." What’s the craziest thing you have found? "Huh ... one day I found a finger with a ring on it." --- "Cuando hay suerte a veces encontramos cosas que uno ni se puede imaginar. Llevamos reciclando toda la vida y vimos todo la verdad. La gente tira cualquier cosa." "En general lo más valorable son los metales. El cobre, aluminio y a veces hay bronce también. La mayoría saca los plásticos y al final vidrio. Sacar el vidrio es lo que da la menos gracia porque uno se va cortando las manos todo el día ... y tampoco vale mucho ... de unos 10 - 15 kilos le alcanza para una cena normal en el centro. Pero igual todos comemos acá, restos de comida siempre hay." Que es lo más loco que han encontrado? "Jaja ... un día encontré un dedo con un anillo encima." --- - met them in Managua [ NICARAGUA ]

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[the-peopleimeet]

"My name is Reina Isabel. I was born here in La Chureca 31 years ago and I have tuberculosis." --- "Me llamo Reina Isabel, nací acá en La Chureca hace 31 años y sufro de tuberculosis." --- - met her in Managua [ NICARAGUA ]

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[juandesola]

Cuando salí del infierno

Cuando salí del infierno

No hubo piedad.  El terremoto sobre la ciudad de Managua,  en el año 1973, cimentó uno de los infiernos sociales y humanos más importantes de las últimas cuatro décadas. Allí residieron dos mil personas con la esperanza de colgar el gancho algún día; un inseparable utensilio con el que rebuscar entre los desechos alguna pieza de metal con la que poder sacar unos pocos córdobas (nombre de la…

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[jcdeproductions]

Trailer of the award-winning #documentary #film By My Side [A Mi Lado] that will be available on June 23 on iTunes in France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

[jcdeproductions]

Working on the French poster of #bymyside / #amilado. Stay tuned for the upcoming release of the film!

[jcdeproductions]

Houses for sale in the Chureca

Waste pickers from the Chureca had been waiting for a new house for months. They could see it being built near the site, where they are scavenging every day. A woman apparently tried to take advantage of this hope for a new home. More than 30 people told police earlier this month that they were victims of a scam. Nelly del Socorro Canales Fornos told them she was selling homes in the new housing complex in the Chureca. These people apparently paid between 300 and 500 dollars. According to a story published earlier this month in La Prensa, the woman admitted to the police her guilt in this scam. She supposedly told her victims that she was working for the company building the houses for 258 families of the Chureca and that some of the houses were for sale.

Some people living in the Chureca are afraid to be expelled from their house according to a story in El Nuevo Diario. These people are not scheduled to receive a new house because they apparently did not live in the Chureca when the census was done for the new houses. Dominga's sister, Fatima, recently received her new home after living for years inside the Chureca.

[jcdeproductions]

Unfulfilled promises

Fatima, Dominga's sister, recently received a new house in the new housing development in the Chureca. These houses were built to relocate the Churequeros. Authorities have also been building a new recycling plant to give the waste pickers a new job. El Nuevo Diario recently reported that some people of the Chureca have been left behind. They say they have not received a home nor a job. Despite living most of her life in the Chureca, doña Isabel has not been offered a house, because she did not live inside the perimeter of the dump anymore. Her son and daughter keep working in the Chureca. Same thing for Maryuri's family, who lives outside the Chureca and who did not receive a house. The challenges in the Chureca remain huge. The last time we saw Alba Rosa, Maryuri's mother, she was suffering from an eye infection.

[jcdeproductions]

Recycling the Chureca

Last Friday, I was in Trenton, NJ. It is technically a world away from the Chureca. But when I stepped into the offices of TerraCycle and when I met Tom Szaky, the young CEO of the company, I thought about the Churequeros a lot. Tom Szaky recycles all he can think of. It goes from used diapers to cans and to cigarette butts. He also recycles plastic bottles and everything that is worth something in the Chureca as well. But he goes one step further. With his team, he thinks about a way to reinvent garbage and recycle it into a new product. For instance, cigarette butts are turned into ashtrays among other things. He keeps talking about outsmarting waste: "Instead of the product being the driver, garbage is the driver".

TerraCycle collects 100 different kind of waste and helps to create 1500 new products with the material it recycles. The way it works is clever: TerraCycle asks people to join one of its brigades collecting one specific kind of waste. People, who join and collect waste, get points when they send it and can convert their points into cash to support a non-profit or a school of their choice.   In countries like Brazil and Mexico, Terracycle also works with cooperatives, which pay the waste pickers. I told Tom Szaky about the Chureca. Hopefully the Trenton-based company will get there as there is a lot to recycle in the Chureca. If you are interested in joining one of the collection brigades, you can go to TerraCycle's website.