Since the Egyptian government killed all their pigs, the Zabaleen trash picking community of Cairo have had no use for the organic waste they used to collect as food slops, thus creating a trash crisis for the city at large. NPR reports on a couple of positive developments. One, the Zabaleen neighborhoods now smell better (though other parts of Cairo now stink more) and an organization called Solar Cities has been building bio-gas and solar fueled heaters for the Zabaleen providing hot water to a community that has never had it before and creating a use for some of the organic waste plaguing Cairo.

Finished system via http://solarcities.blogspot.com/
Listen to the Weekend Edition clip and check out production assistant Kimberly Adams‘ post on NPR’s blog Soapbox describing her recent trip to Egypt and Solar Cities’ work there.