WIEGO and Pimpex: Recyclers of Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

PIMPEX was an event for dialogue about the challenges faced by women waste pickers working in the streets of Belo Horizonte, with a focus on gender and race. At this event, the Belo Horizonte School of Design, with support from WIEGO, repaired and decorated two manual carts with graffiti belonging to two waste pickers’ from Belo Horizonte: Emínia and Maria Helena. Women waste pickers, students, local graffiti artists and street dwellers participated in the dialogue. As the theme of the Pimpex was gender and recycling, the carts were painted with imagery related to women’s empowerment.

With funds obtained from a Crowdfunding campaign, the two women waste pickers also received raincoats, gloves and other safety equipment in addition to the repair and decoration of their carts.