Dharavi- Asia's Largest Slum

                In India, one of the world’s largest slums, Dharavi, has also become one of the world’s largest recycling centers. They have acquired many skills to help recycle the materials, so much that these skills have accumulated over one billion dollars last year. These skills include melting down soaps from five star hotels and mixing them together to make a new kind of soap and as a new idea maybe they could mold them into different shapes to expand their business. Along with being Asia’s largest slum it is also known as a great business center because of all the new and creative ways they have thought for recycled materials. Out of the 19 million people that live in Dharavi some are even title as entrepreneur and they have built a certain social class. Despite being the largest slum they have a social system or a higher class within the streets. The entrepreneurs are most likely of the higher class or the people who have become complete experts when it comes to recycled materials.

                I think that it is fantastic that this slum has become the main source for recycled material and that they have come up with new and innovative ideas for the materials. They have become so good at it that they are in the long run helping out Asia’s economy. My question is why are they still poor? They have so many ideas and they are very creative with the materials why are they still titled as the slums of Asia? I assume that they have become very good at this recycling thing because of all the material that they were forced to use because nothing else was available so they became skilled at recycling and making another trash another man’s treasure, which is now treasure for the whole country to take advantage of. But that still raises my question as to why they are still called the slums and why do they live in such horrible conditions when they can accumulate 1 billion dollars in a year? Is it truly necessary for Asia to have slums? Is that what makes their economy go round? I just think that the people who are helping boost the economy should be living in better conditions then they are living in currently. (381)

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/mar/04/india.recycling

 http://worldhumanities.wordpress.com/