Approaching the Dump - The Guatemala City Dump. Buses come and go providing transportation for folks to be able to salvage stuff at the dump.


Hundreds of people live in the dump. Ostracized by the general population, many spend their entire lives in the dump, subsisting entirely on scavenging -- for food, clothing, everything. In the past few decades, the problem has worsened to the point that many of these dump dwellers have never known of any other life: They were born and raised entirely in the dump. Their parents and their parents' parents have lived there all their lives. Glue sniffing is also common problem among dump dwellers, as it gives a temporary high and deadens the smell of the dump.




Even among the dump dwellers there is an established social order. People with seniority are at the top of the social strata, and get the garbage from the trucks that came from the richer areas of the city, while newcomers start at the bottom.


The dump also functions as an informal recycling industry. People specialize in collecting specific items or materials, which they sell for reuse or as raw materials.

Some of these photos were received from other sources.

Judy
email judy.stewart@scbbs-bo.com or judystewart@caminternational.org