While in Mexico City I was invited to guest teach a photo class of Mark Powell's at Faro de Oriente. Faro, an art school that's totally free is located in the middle of a neighborhood called Iztapalapa near Neza. It's one of the poorest and most troubled areas of Mexico City (1,771,000 inhabitants, 87% of them in extreme poverty).

On the day we were there the surrounding streets were covered in a sprawling market consisting of the pickings from the huge trash dump near by...

Trash on the way to the dump carried by horse and wagon...

Most of Mexico City still relies on garbage pickers — generations of scavengers, many born inside the landfills. The city has an ambitious new green plan to waste less and recycle more, incorporating those scavengers into the business.

Two interesting articles about Mexico City's new green plan for garbage... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28777897/http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=848446&lang=eng_news&cate_img=317.jpg&cate_rss=news_Features

For more information about the school Fábrica de Artes y Oficios de Oriente (FARO) go to... http://www.cultura.df.gob.mx/culturama/secretaria/Recintos/FARO/indexN.html