Coal-fired brick kilns are a cornerstone of construction in South Asia. With rapid urban growth, demand for cheap materials keeps rising. India has about 140,000 kilns, Bangladesh nearly 10,000. This technology is the cheapest way to produce bricks, so modernization process is very slow. Kilns are major sources of air pollution, contributing to smog, landscape degradation and soil depletion. Workers are mainly migrants from the poorest regions. Entire families, including children, work long hours in harsh conditions. Despite this, the kilns remain the primary livelihood for millions.
