Vijay S. Jodha
Woman Collecting Camel Dung, 2011
Pushkar, India
Category - Towards a Sustainable Future
Despite all the progress made, access to cooking fuel remains a challenge for more than two billion people in the world. The poorest populations are forced to use unsustainable alternatives, sometimes even dangerous for their health, such as charcoal or firewood. But animal dung is also part of a widely used solution, as can be seen in this photograph.The Indian town of Pushkar, located on the edge of the Thar Desert, hosts the world’s largest camel fair every winter. It draws local traders as well as international tourists, photographers and filmmakers for a whole week. However, the event hides another reality: the town’s poorest people use this opportunity to provide for one of their most basic need. This subject, which is close to my heart, was also the subject of the award-winning short film I made in 2012, Poop on Poverty.
70-200 mm f/2.8 Lens - 1/1600 sec at f/3.5 ISO 100