Sweating at a forge, Bamako, Mali

As if being close to the equator isn’t warm enough, this guy works at a forge all day. The beads of sweat tell the story.

Mali’s average life-expectancy is 53; poverty mercilessly grinds people down.

The Recycler’s Market is on the outskirts of Bamako, the capital of Mali. Here, metal waste is recycled into useful products from car parts to cooking utensils. It’s amazing what resourceful people can do with so little. And it’s also amazing just how hard they work.