Vivek Brick Field

We’ve been making bricks here in Bamhrauli for a while. It's dusty work. People from the village know us. We just keep the kiln running. Nothing fancy. My family helps out. The sun gets hot in Khaga during the summer but we keep at it. Mostly it's just about getting the mud right and firing the kilns properly. We see the kids going to school every morning while we stack the rows. It’s hard labor but it’s what we do. The trucks come in and out through the village roads. We try to keep things organized but a brick field is always a bit messy by nature. The soil around here is good for what we need. Sometimes the rain slows us down and we have to cover everything up quick. That's just how it goes. If you're driving past the school, you can't miss the tall chimney. We've stayed in this same spot in Tehsil Khaga because it works for us. Most days start early before the sun is even up properly. We just make bricks and sell them to people building houses nearby. It's steady work and we're used to the routine of it now. The trucks rumble past the school gates and they kick up a lot of dust that settles on everything. We have a small shed where we take our tea breaks when the sun gets too much for us. We’ve had some of the same guys working the kilns for years. They know exactly how the fire should look. Sometimes a batch doesn't come out quite right and we have to set those aside.