Waste Pickers of Dandora
This year Sam Barker traveled to Africa’s biggest rubbish dump site, the infamous Dandora, in Nairobi. Once a place full of nature and wildlife, it is now home to 30 acres of nauseating toxic wasteland. The dump was full by 2001 but attempts on its closure have been met with hesitation from local government. The site is run by cartel gangs and operates as a fully functioning economic system, serving some 3000 local families here and in the surrounding slums. With its own rules, system of commerce and even its own church and hotel, it’s a hellish yet working habitat. The cartels run arms deals, using lorries to carry weapons in and out of the area – while the local police keep their distance.
