Building Collective Power

International Women’s Day 2022

For International Women’s Day, WIEGO looks at the foundation that women leaders of worker organizations have laid during the pandemic...

Coura Ndiaye – a waste picker leader in Dakar, Senegal

Coura Ndiaye – or “Mother Coura” as people call her out of respect for her age and the number of years she has worked as a waste picker –...

Norma Palacios, a domestic worker leader in Mexico City

Norma Palacios is one of the co-founders and leaders of SINACTRAHO, a domestic workers’ union in Mexico that seeks to raise awareness of...

Cooperatives Cushion Catadores Against Worst of Pandemic

Key Points Waste-picker cooperatives cushioned Brazil’s waste pickers (known locally as catadores) against the worst economic impacts of...

Inclusive Recycling in Waste Picker Cooperatives in Brazil: Impacts of COVID-19 Comparative Analysis 2020-2021

See related brief. Key Points: Cooperatives were able to quickly implement COVID-19 protocols in the sorting sheds, thus achieving greater...

Renu, a Vendor Leader in Bangkok, Thailand

ภาษาไทย   Renu is the leader of the Muubaan Nakila Service Cooperative, which is active in her housing estate in Bangkok. Along with other...

Reshmaben Bashirkhan Pathan, a home-based worker organizer in Ahmedabad, India

Reshmaben is an organizer with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). She learnt tailoring from her mother when she was 14. Now, at...

Rukaya Bawule, a kayayei leader in Accra, Ghana

Rukaya Bawule is 26 years old and a leader of the kayayei, or headporters, in Agbogbloshie market in Accra, Ghana. Through her organization,...

MBO Newsletter February 2022

Five Ways Waste Pickers Built Connections During the Pandemic

During the pandemic, when waste pickers face harassment, eviction, stigmatization and a decline in earnings, building connections has proven...