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La Chureca: Living in Garbage [PHOTO ESSAY]

69 Comments By
Managua Nicaragua La Chureca

Toxic Fumes at La Chureca Landfill on the Shore of Lake Managua

La Chureca is the largest garbage dump in Central America. It’s located on the outskirts of Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. This landfill is giant, covering over 4 square miles (7 sq. km). One thousand people live & work on the “City of Trash” every day.

Getting here was not easy, and traipsing through burning, rotting garbage wasn’t exactly a picnic either. But the hardest part of all was bearing witness to the way of life these people have to live.

They are called Churequeros. Their homes are made of trash. They scavenge through the garbage for food. Every day they search for scraps of plastic & glass to sell for money. This is how they make a living.

There is an elementary school located on the dump with 6 classrooms. But once kids have graduated, they don’t have many options. Most start working long hours in the landfill every day with the rest of the family.

The following images are my attempt to share what goes on here. It’s not pretty, but it’s real.

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Workers

Men Searching for Scraps of Glass & Plastic to Sell for Recycling

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Scavengers

Vultures, Cows, and Wild Horses Pick Through Garbage with People

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Dead Animals

Dead Animals, Bio-Waste, and Rotting Food are Constant Health Hazards

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Home

Families Live on the Dump in Homes made of Trash

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Woman

Woman Sweeps Garbage from Her Dirt-Floor Home

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca School Boy

Local Boy Waits for Class to Start at School

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Dirty Water

Pond Filled with Trash & Green Sludge

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Children Workers

11 Year Old José Breathes in Toxic Fumes While Scavenging

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Burning Garbage

Garbage is Burned All Day, Dangerous Chemicals & Heavy Metals Included

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Worker

Churequero Man Starts his Long Day of Working on the Landfill

Managua Nicaragua La Chureca Worker

La Chureca Kids have a Bleak Future and a Hard Life

Posted in Nicaragua & Photo Essays

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69 Comments - Add Yours!

Carlo -

Wow. Stunning and disturbing pictures. I’m glad you took the time to document this. How long did it take to get there?

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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    Tough to see in person. The difficulty wasn’t the time it took to get there, but rather trying to find someone that both knew how and was willing to go…

    Reply »
Stan Faryna -

A haunting glimpse of a possible future.
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Adam Daigle -

Excellent photos. Did you wear a mask??

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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    Just a scarf wrapped around my face, like many workers had. It’s probably safe to say the few hours I spent there reduced my lifespan by a week or so!

    Also had to remove the scarf a few times, fearing I would puke. Fragrant working conditions to say the least…

    Reply »
Erica @ Nonstop World Travel -

I saw a much smaller scale of this in India. Thanks for such an insightful post. It’s hard to imagine what that life would really be like, but it’s easy to be humbled by the thought of it.
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Jaime -

Damn, I know you talked about this the night we stayed on the volcano & I imagined it, but wow this is heart wrenching. I honestly don’t even know what to think… this kills me, just knowing that the people have no future at all & are working in horrible conditions.
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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    It’s difficult to see when you can’t really do anything to help. I filled my backpack with healthy snacks to give out to the kids.

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    Debbie -

    Heart- wrenching & haunting images. I have seen similar in India. You just feel so helpless.

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T-roy -

In Cambodia there is a dump village in the capital as well. I went out there one day with some local ex-pats and gave food and candy away to the families living there. I never wrote about it because i couldn’t think of the words to use as to what i saw that day. Worst part for me was the actual houses made of trash, that were in mounds. The kids living in there were so dirty. Great editorial photos!

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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    Thx Troy! The reason I made it a photo essay was the same: couldn’t think of words that would do the experience justice.

    Reply »
    Tolulope Sangosanya -

    I work on a dump site in Lagos Nigeria. I am just shocked that what i thought was a local problem turned out to be a global one. I have been teaching, training and interacting via my registered NGO with the children living on the dumpsite my organisation renamed DUSTBIN ESTATE for 5years now and it is sad that as against the few thousands of people in this plight is actually in millions.
    How do we make this a thing of the past is what i am after now? how do we change the future and make it brighter and more inhumane?

    Reply »
      Matthew Karsten -

      All good questions Tolulope. Sounds like you are doing more than most though, so thanks. I don’t have the answers. I’ve heard that the situation at La Chureca has improved in recent years, so that’s a good sign. It might just take time, and more people being aware of these issues can’t hurt either.

      Reply »
David @ Quillcards Prints -

Out of sight, out of mind, so bravo to you for publishing these photos and for even thinking of going to this dump – it’s not on a typical travel itinerary.

I know people scavenge on dumps – but seeing the kid Jose with his eyes screwed up really brings home what the fumes must be doing to them.

Matt, why were people reticent to take you there?
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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    We were told that area of the city wasn’t very safe… although everyone I met at the landfill seemed perfectly friendly. The guy that brought us was an attorney who regularly worked cases involving the people at La Chureca.

    Reply »
DENYSE -

Such heartwrenching photos…..Personally I have not experienced such sites and this pains my heart…..my heart goes out to these people…..thank you for sharing these pics….

I do look forward to your posts on your adventures…

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Dina -

I saw something like this in Indonesia, but I don’t think it was this bad (or probably it was just me that didn’t know). Heart breaking photos. But in the same time your shots are brilliant. I truly hope the future will be better for them. Great idea in bringing healthy snack packages to the kids.
Did you go there by yourself or you had somebody to show you around?

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The Curmudgeon -

Best photos yet. Is it worse than your sissy’s room? Hard to believe. You can almost smell the stench, or was that your high school gym sneakers? You’d probably have to have a good cigar to make through the day in that mess. I wouldn’t know. I could.

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Trish -

Shocking and overwhelming, makes you wonder what right you have to bitch about anything.

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Grace -

Amazing photos but heartbreaking to see the children. We do have it easy!
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David @ MalaysiaAsia -

Fascinating take on a dumpster and life that revolves around it and excellent pictures taken.
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Jillian -

A haunting look at real life for these people. All the more fascinating without the words, I found myself looking deeper at the pictures. How did the people react to your visit?
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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    Many were curious and watched everything I did, some were disinterested, and a few didn’t look very happy to see me there.

    Obviously I didn’t approach this last group. :)

    Reply »
Scott - Quirky Travel Guy -

Wow, that’s amazing to see. Great photos – they really capture the experience of a place I wouldn’t have known existed.
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Natalie -

Shocking pictures. Makes you remember that no matter how much we bitch, there is always someone worse off then us
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Chonta -

How is it that the president of this country Daniel Ortega is worth 400 million dollars and children are looking for food to eat at this place? OR TO RECYLCLE aluminum cans to earn one dollar a day for food. How did this president became so rich? You tell me….. the first letter starts with a D the second letter is R the third letter is an U the fourth letter is an G so far we have DRUG TRAF……

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megan -

Wow, these images are intense…thanks for sharing, I think it’s important to know there are places like this out there.
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Harry, ExposedPlanet -

Well done and thanks for sharing. It is good to show what people do to survive. Hopefully it might tone down a few people that complain about their 3rd mortgage or kids that did not get the newest xbox for their b-day..
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Patrik Appelquist -

I´ve been working at this dump with the kids for almost three months now. La Chureca is an amazing place and we’re doing the best we can to support the kids and the locals here. I´ve dedicated one year of my life to work with street kids. I´ll continue to work in La Chureca and with some criminal gangs around Managua.

If you guys really wanna help these people you should check out http://www.eartheducationproject.org/
Buy some of the cards, handmade by women living at the dump, say hello from Patrik (el pelon). This is their chance to get away from the big mountains of trash and get more time with their kids, whom, with a little help, might not have to be the next generation in La Chureca…

I also wanna say that La Churca is NOT a ZOO where you should just walk in with a camera and start snappin photos. This is their home. They wouldn´t come into your house and start taking photos just like that. But yes, sign up as a volunteer or organize funding in your country etc and then come here supporting a program/project. Too many people are just coming here in big vans and buses, just like a safari trip, throwing out candy thru the windows. It´s awful!

Nice photos man, I really think you got the picture.

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Tony Tasam -

Amazingly disturbing. Great job, Matt. Wish I had to chance to see this whilst I was in Managua. Never knew such situations were a reality until now. Must have been quite a personal experience. Do many tourists come to these areas? And how do the locals living in the dumps respond to you guys?

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    Matt | ExpertVagabond -

    Not that I’m aware of, I know photographers visit it sometimes.

    They responded the same way you might if someone with a big camera came into your workplace/neighborhood to take photos…

    Many were curious, most were dis-interested, and some were not happy.
    I get the same kinds of reactions shooting photos anywhere, including while working as a photographer in Miami’s nightclubs.

    Reply »
Zablon Mukuba -

its always sad when you see such things and how some people are living
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    Matthew Karsten -

    Yes, it makes you view life in a different way. While it was hard to witness, I’m glad I went. I believe all experiences, good & bad, teach you something.

    Reply »
Akila -

Wonderful, wonderful pictures Matt. It is incredibly sad — I’ve seen several of these type of homes amidst the dumps in India and Cambodia but we didn’t have the heart to take pictures. I am glad you did because people who haven’t traveled to those countries need to see this side of travel, too.

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    Matthew Karsten -

    Thanks Akila. I believe that the realities of our world should be shared with everyone, no matter how disturbing.

    Reply »
Erin in Costa Rica -

Gross. That just sucks. I had no idea this existed in Nicaragua. Thanks for taking the photos (which are great by the way) to help spread awareness.

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    Matthew Karsten -

    While it’s fun to share the good side of traveling to new countries, the sad & depressing things deserve their place too.

    Reply »
Phil J -

Thought-provoking article and stunning photos Matt.

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Nicanadian -

La Chureca is currently being modernized and transformed into a recycling centre formally employing its current residents.

Spain’s Agency of International Development Collaborations, revealed a 30 million Euro integral development project for La Chureca in 2007. This is a three part project already in progress which includes: firstly, closing down the existing dumpster; secondly, creating a new alternative recycling industry for the waste; and thirdly, housing and social integration alternatives for those living or working in or around La Chureca.

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Thalia Chirpich -

Twelve photographs of La Chureca: Living in Garbage allows the observer to draw the conclusion that this is as bad as it gets. The people have even greater struggle undocumented by this still life pictorial. Consider the average would use drugs for possible recreation and I have head a child give an account that he as a Le Chureca huffed paint to forget the pain of hunger or that a hit and run here is when a bulldozer buries a person alive in rubbish when the driver did not see someone sorting through garbage. There are 3 generations of people that have lived at this dump since about 1972 and it is the largest dump in the country.
Follow this link to see that there is a difference 30 million Euro being made however there are going to be those that will still have fallen through the cracks or pushed outside of program guidelines. People still need to be diligent to document the experience of the lives of La Chureca so that those that can and are willing can still help the less fortunate just like Matt has here at expertvagabond.com

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Vic Craig -

My income is only $611.00 per month but I send $5.00 each to “feed the children” and “St Jude”
I would like to help you but I don’t have the resourses. Love those children and let them love you.
vic craig/Wisconsin

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Sandra Guedes (@Oddtotheunknown) -

La Chureca: Living in Garbage http://t.co/aaY4WfMQ via @ExpertVagabond

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Mavis (@mavisinc) -

wow – another reminder of how lucky I really am. http://t.co/DKitFfNq heartbreaking. @expertvagabond

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Fabien -

Hi Matthew, I just discover your blog (via twitter), great stuffs!!! In my RSS feed, done! Keep up your works!
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Sydney -

Hey,i’m Thai. I just saw the La Chuera things on tumblr and googled it and i found your blog!
The photos are incredible. It does change the way you see life. I’ve read that the girls there are being used for prostitue for the truck drivers in order to be the first one who gets in the truck. I’m speechless, why doesn’t anybody help them? Their gonvernment? I’m afraid that my country will turn out to be like that. Anyway, your works are great! Keep them up!

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    Matthew Karsten -

    Hi Sydney, thanks for stopping by! Things are certainly not pretty there, but it’s gotten much better than it used to be. The Spanish government is actually helping to clean up the site. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

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Lopezd -

Thanx Matt I am from Nicaragua. I have been living in NY almost all my life. This concerns me I have traveled 2x to Nicaragua and ask to go there take fresh bread but people discourage ne on doing so. They say it’s dangerous. Patrik I will take a look at the website it’s better to work as a group then together we can maje a difference! Thank you guys.

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lis -

great pictures! you managed to create something beautiful out of an awfully depressing situation. very touching photos…

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Susan @ Travel Junkette -

Wow, these pictures are tough to see. I’m currently volunteering in Granada, Nicaragua, and my Spanish teacher gave me an article to read about La Chureca. I decided to search for some photos of it, and I ended up here. The article I read did discuss the Spanish government’s efforts to help — so hopefully that will make a difference!
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Lisa -

Hi Matt, I was researching material for a speech on recycling and I came across your site. It’s truly heartbreaking! Your photos depict a life that we would never know exists. Thanks for sharing.

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flip -

Wow… a bit disturbing but it’s the sad reality in some places. Great photos man! Your pic of the La Chureca Worker (wearing a mask) is stunning… it’s like a scary peak to our future if we don’t stop treating our planet well. Well done Matt. Looking forward to more photo essays from you :-)

Safe Travels!
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    Matthew Karsten -

    Thanks Flip. It did feel very post-apocalyptic there. A whole community of people scavenging for anything of value in a wasteland environment…

    Reply »

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