The Woman Turning Rubbish Into Homes In Pakistan

(@syeda_siddra)

The woman turning rubbish into homes in Pakistan

a common sight in Karachi, a city that produces 12,000 tons of it a day. However, an old woman named Nargis Latif put her all efforts to do something to make the world a better place. So, she started to research ways of making use of that rubbish. After a year of research, she created the Gul Bahao (flow the flowers) project. Under this project, she placed an active recycling system with a group of trash pickers, who collect garbage and convert it into profitable business.

It uses rubbish to create houses, water reservoirs, fodder for livestock, and instant compost. Nargis Latif insists that this technology will revolutionize the world, just like the steam engine and the mobile phone did. She said while talking to the media, “Gul bahao is engineering a technological revolution on the same lines.” Chandi Ghar, a house made of recycled rubbish is one of this team’s fabulous creations, which was built during the 2005 earthquake for the first time as shelter.

Gul Bahao has built more than 150 Chandi Ghars across Pakistan since 2005. These houses have been useful for the nomads who suffer from poverty, lack of rainfall, and limited water supply living in Tharparkar district, Pakistan. However, her life has not been easy so far. Running the organization has become a serious challenge for her. Nargis said in an interview, “Nobody is willing to give us funds because nobody thinks highly of research here.” She added that convincing people to stay in Chandi Ghars is a very difficult task because people consider it a waste made up of waste. They don't want to live in or sit on garbage. But she assured that the material used in these is clean, especially the plastic. It's difficult to change that thinking and perception of the people.