Underbelly of Kathmandu - Brickmakers

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Photographer

Larry Louie
Date of Photograph

Jan. 2010
Socials
Website

https://larrylouie.com/louie-photography-home

Underbelly of Kathmandu - Life of a Brickmaker. A documentation of the urban poor of Kathmandu where only very menial labors are available to them.

Biography

Larry Louie is a Canadian photographer using photography as a platform to raises awareness on social issues and the challenges people are encountering in a world facing rapid urbanization and globalization. He is a humanitarian documentary photographer, exploring the lives of remote indigenous people and documenting social issues around the world. He wants to engage people in inspiring stories of perseverance and strength. He hopes his photographs will be able to tell the stories and make a difference, and to reveal light that is found in the darkest of places.
Awards

2019 PDN Face Portrait Photo Award Professional First Place Winner Ethan - Freedom to Be a Child 2019 Lucie Award Book Prize, New York Lucie Photo Book Shortlist Beyond the Darkness Book 2019 PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris Winner in State of the World/Social Documentary Mining in Hell’s Fire for Devil’s Gold 2018 Monochrome Awards Professional Photographer of the Year – Photojournalism 1st Place Rohingya Refugee Waiting for Food 2018 Black and White Spiders Awards Outstanding Achievement 1st place Children of the World Corralled For Food, Rohingya Refugees 2017 PDN Photoannual Personal Project Winner Indian Jute Mill 2015 Monochrome Awards Professional Photographer of the Year - Photojournalism - 1st Place Toxic Water 2015 Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) London, UK Winner in Color of the World Tibetan Prayer Flags 2014 IPA Lucie Award 1st Place - Professional - People: Children A Life Beyond the Dumps 2012 Camera Obscura Journal Professional Photography Prize Sewing 2012 Black and White Spiders Awards 1st place in Photojournalism (Professional) Runner Up – Photographer of the Year Toxic Water, Bangladesh 2011 Critical Mass Finalist Working Children of Bangladesh 2010 Traveler of the Year (TOTY) UK Grand Prize Winner 2010 National Geographic Traveler First Place Winner Temple in the Fog, Kathmandu 2010 Asian Geographic Magazine Asia Without Borders - Runner Up 2010 IPA First Place Fine Art Landscape, First Place People 2010 PX3 France Photo documentary of the Year 2010 B and W Magazine Award of Excellence 2010 Charleston Center of Photography Visual Maker of the Year – Cultural Peace 2009 World Photography Gala Awards Humanitarian Documentary Award 2007 Lucie Award Lucie Trophy Award Recipient

Story

The Underbelly of Kathmandu consists of the new slum areas popping all over the valley. These areas are made up mostly of people displaced from their hillside villages due to the Maoist conflict in the recent years or people from the lower caste (Dalits) who are just too poor to afford land.
These photos are part of the series documenting the life of the brick maker of Kathmandu, one of the few jobs that is available to the urban poor. This job is only available for a few months of the year. All work is done by hand. Work is hard and hours are long, but it provides steady income for the few months that it is available.