Sustainable Solutions

Investing in Humane Brick Making

The issue of bonded labor is not just an issue of morality, it's a systemic problem built into the system of the brickmaking industry. Freeing families is not enough if the system isn't changed in the process. At All People Free we want to end slavery, which means addressing the parts of the brickmaking system that rely on and encourage slave labor.

Most people are surprised to learn that contemporary slavery is alive and well. What they often fail to understand are the ways in which modern day slavery is inherent to the economic practices in some industries. A combination of legal, economic, and social forces interact to make 21st century slavery a reality. These forces make wage laborers little more than indentured servants, trapped by debt and low wages with little chance of escape.

We are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to make the brickyards in the Middle East and Asia profitable without relying on human slavery for production. We aim to invest in good people and good methods to ensure brickyards are run in a way that is beneficial to the brickyard owners and their employees, without the use of inhumane labor practices. Ultimately, we aim to buy a brickyard to run a prototype system, modeling a more efficient and humane way of making bricks!

In the long term, this means we'll be changing the very heart of how brick making is done, creating desirable jobs with fair wages, and investing in communities from the ground up. Sustainable manufacturing is necessary, not only to end the existing practices of modern slavery, but to disincentivize those practices from ever occurring again. Join us in our pursuit of manufacturing sustainability in the brickmaking industry and ending the practice of modern day slavery.

Program components

Introduction of Machine Brick Making
ZIG ZAG Brick Kiln Technology
Fair Wages
Elimination of illegal child labor
Access to education
Government registration for undocumented citizens
Environmentally Friendly Solutions
Clean living environment with access to a bathroom
Access to clean water
Safety and Security

SYEDA'S WORK

Our friend Syeda Ghulam Fatiama has successfully run three brick kilns without slave labor. Syeda is best known for her work as a human rights activist in the brick kilns of Pakistan. She is the recipient of the Clinton global citizen award and is now known around the world for her work to end bonded labor in the Middle East & Asia. Having been shot and stabbed while attempting to rescue bonded laborers, she knows firsthand the brutality of bonded labor.

With over thirty years of experience fighting to end slavery, she has made several significant milestones, such as the legal rights to emancipate bonded labor, and advanced strategies to end it. In spending some time with Syeda and listening to her team’s strategy, we have confirmed that the solutions are simple and a collective effort will result in a change. The use and demonstration of more efficient technology is the way forward.