Bricks have been used in South Asia for thousands of years, using essentially the same techniques that are used today. Bricks are shaped from clay individually by hand and fired in large underground kilns.
The use of these kiln-dried bricks was limited for much of human history, primarily reserved for monuments and homes of the wealthy and elite. The majority of people lived in houses made of sun-dried bricks or mud walls, a tradition that continues in many rural areas of South Asia today.
The use of kiln-baked bricks became widespread during the British colonial period, as the British administration constructed paved streets and permanent buildings, reinforced or built new fortresses, developed canals and dams, and expanded railway lines, ports, and warehouses to facilitate the extraction and export of India’s wealth to Britain.
With independence and modernization, often backed by international aid agencies and institutions, brick production has continued to increase at a rapid rate because it is essentially the only local building material available that is not damaged during the rainy season. From 2014 to 2022 alone, brick production increased eightfold, and demand has been projected to rise by three to four times more by 2047.
This surge in production comes with severe environmental consequences. Fueling the kilns has depleted scarce local coal and wood fuel resources and many kilns across the region are burning anything cheap to fuel their operations, including plastics, rubber, and old tires, leading to significant air pollution, black carbon emissions, and degradation of agricultural land.
The antiquated kiln technology relies on bonded labor, with entire families—including children and the elderly— forced to meet daily production quotas to sustain the continuous round-the-clock operations required to meet the growing demand. This is especially true where technology is the most primitive and low production figures make this a labor intensive industry. For example, in China, which has the most advanced technology, the number of bricks produced per employee each year is about 200,000, and the workers receive salaries. In India that number of bricks produced per person is 20,000 and in Pakistan, 5,000. Both of these countries rely on indentured labour.
It is likely that in the earliest days of the kiln-fired brick technology the labor was performed seasonally by the community members as a whole. Four or five thousand years ago, the demand for bricks would have been limited to large building structures such as temples or palaces. Individual homes would have been constructed of dried mud, or woven vegetation. Later, bricks may have been added to enclose and protect the less durable mud walls for the homes of the wealthiest families.
But after the incursion of the British and other colonial powers, production would have had to become year round to meet the rapidly growing demand. Cheap labor became essential. What has evolved over the years is a system of indentured servitude, typically drawing from families belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and outcasts from the poorest sectors of society.
These indentured families are provided with living quarters at the brick kiln site and must purchase food and other necessities from their employers. Most are illiterate and must trust their employer to keep track of their debt, leaving them open to unscrupulous bookkeeping. Every member of the family must work to fulfill the family quota of bricks each day, including very young children and the elderly. They labor up to 16 hours a day, at wages as low as Rs.300 per day, exposed to extreme heat, bitter cold, choking dust, and toxic fumes. Failure to meet the daily quota adds to the family’s debt, so they often strive to have as many children as possible to provide more hands to mold and transport bricks. If the head of the family dies, the debt is transferred to the eldest son, which keeps them trapped for generations. Sometimes, another kiln owner takes over their loan, effectively becoming their new owner.
When Brighter Tomorrow explored the possibility of bringing our school model to the brick kiln children, we met with all the brick kiln owners both individually and in groups. Once again Wajid drank many cups of tea and listened deeply, as he had with the shopkeepers and small business owners in Peshawar.
He even found a few brick kiln owners who were sympathetic to the idea of educating the children. But as a group, they were leery of the idea. Human rights activists had approached them earlier, and their activities shone light on the problem. But the owners had felt accused and therefore were not responsive.
Even with a gentler approach, not one owner was willing to be the first to open a school. They would watch with interest and even sympathy if another brick kiln owner agreed to be first.
But they needed a cheap workforce for such a labor intensive industry. Their families had produced bricks this traditional way for generations. There was little incentive to modernize equipment and increase productivity.
The children’s parents were also reluctant to support a school. Previous activists had helped individuals get out from under their debts and walk free from their servitude. But without an education or job skills, they soon found themselves back at the only life they knew.
Indeed, although child labor is officially illegal in Pakistan, even the law makes an exception for the brick kiln children, who are considered to be working for their families, not for the owners.
And society does not encourage change. The brick kiln industry is one of the largest industries in Pakistan. Every construction project in the country is required by law to use these bricks. Every home, every business, every public building, every foreign aid project. Ironically, the kiln-baked bricks provide exceptionally poor insulation compared with the cheaper but easily damaged mud walls. The bricks retain heat during the day and become cold at night.
Everyone involved – the workers, the owners, the consumers of bricks, and even the government – all are caught in the system. No one person can transform it. Wajid was proposing not a simple school, but a major system change, similar to the end of slavery in the US or the overthrow of colonialism in the 20th century.
While discussing human rights violations, pollution, and inefficiencies with the owners and government officials, Wajid learned how deeply the brick kiln industry in Pakistan is entrenched in the social and cultural fabric of the country. Systemic change is a long-term process that requires a coordinated effort from the government, civil society, and the private sector.
How Change Might Happen
While the use of bricks is necessary for economic growth and infrastructure expansion, urgent systemic reforms are required to reduce the environmental and human costs of brick production. Donor agencies, financial institutions, and governments must seek creative pathways forward. For example instead of using rubber tires to fuel the kilns they could consider making rubber bricks, which provide superior insulation to the clay bricks and do not require as much fuel for production. Another approach would be mechanization to increase efficiency, require less intensive labor and allow for sufficient wages for adults to support their families, as China has done. Both these approaches would improve environmental costs and require workforce training in new methods and technologies.
Regulatory agencies may have to allow for variety in building materials and promote innovation in engineering and construction techniques. Consumers (builders, international aid agencies etc.) might be encouraged to act as agents of change as well as local politicians, brick kiln owners, and workers.
The goal of such reforms would be to promote a healthy construction industry that allows children to go to school, elderly family members to help in the home, and able-bodied adults to be trained in the new techniques and work full time for a living wage.
Without such systemic reforms and sustainable practices, the growth in brick demand will continue to exacerbate environmental degradation, labor exploitation, and resource depletion across South Asia.
Our challenge, then, is not just about education—it’s about creating a sustainable system where brick kiln owners see value in change, and workers see a future beyond generational indentured labor.
Brighter Tomorrow envisions a future where the children of brick kiln owners and workers have choices beyond their inherited roles. If education is tied to practical benefits for both families and kiln owners, resistance to change will gradually erode. The brick kiln industry doesn’t have to be a relic of exploitation—it can become an industry that values both its workers and its own long-term sustainability.
It can happen. It will happen. The path is long but transformation is possible. With collaboration, innovation, and commitment, we can build a future where no child is forced into a life of debt and servitude, and where brick kilns are no longer symbols of suffering, but of progress.
We propose, therefore, to start a discussion among all interested parties to see if we can find a way forward that transforms how we think about creating change, that invites collaboration and rejects blame, that explores systemic change with open minds and open hearts. We start with listening to each other. And then listen again.
This is an issue that must eventually be addressed throughout Southeast Asia. We need to form a partnership that includes government at all levels, private businesses, foreign investors, financial institutions, technical experts, educators, community workers, and parents. We think it would work best if we start with a small group here in Peshawar, and reach out progressively to larger circles.
