Ragmen deprived of resources have been rescued by the creation of a cooperative at a new rubbish tip, thanks to an ecological project providing decent, paid work.
Informal waste management in Morocco
In Morocco, thousands of ‘informal scrap merchants’ pace about, search the rubbish tips and roam the streets. These ragmen – or "mikhala", often lament a bad reputation, but they’re effectively sorting and recycling the waste in a country where the practice does not exist on a consumer level. In 2010, the illicit rubbish tip in Rabat was closed by the authorities. The army of ragmen who managed to survive there found themselves with no income. With the support of the manager of the new rubbish tip, French company Pizzorno, they grouped together to create the cooperative Attawafoq.
AT-TAWAFOUK, a cooperative benefiting nature and man
A far cry from the living conditions of the illicit dump, the ragmen are now based in a covered building and sort a large quantity of the 2,000 tonnes of waste the centre receives on a daily basis. The cooperative has elected Yassin Mazout as president. Boasting a degree in history, he became a ragman at the illicit dump after the death of his father as a way to fund his studies and provide for his family. It’s the ultimate rags to riches story on a human level.
