“Low overheads”

When newcomers arrive they find the simplest ways of surviving by setting up a business with low overheads and making a home with other people’s leftovers. They display great inventiveness but life is also harsh. Workers in Dhaka and Lagos who carry heavy loads and those with low-paid jobs in Rotterdam’s harbour or construction industry frequently suffer from hernias and back problems

Sao Paulo -  People who have lost their keys can get a new ones quickly from this locksmith. He also takes calls. Some retired people who find it hard to get a permanent…
Felipe Denuzzo – Sao Paulo Lab

Lagos -  This young man runs a phone battery recharging service. There is the saying ‘every disappointment can be a blessing’. This certainly applies to the battery recharging services dotted across the…
Andrew Esiebo – Migrationpapa

The ‘services’ required by the community include entertainment and medical support. The snake charmer provides both. While people like to watch the dance of the snakes, the charmer, Lokman also…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

A barbers at the Iddo Terminus. Barbing is a job common among newcomers to the city. With little investment and less skill the business goes on.…
Andrew Esiebo – Migrationpapa

A man has set up a yard sale in front of his house in Detroit’s Near East Side. He’s trying to sell the contents of a neighbouring house. Three chairs…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

You need very little to set up a shop. Here a balance and a wicker baskets and some plastic bags, make up the entire furniture. Even what is sold (legs…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

There are a lot of different things in the boots of this car. You can find and buy here all that your soul wants. Pay only 10 soms (that’s 2…
Raisat Musaeva – Bishkek Lab

This pensioner is trying to earn some extra money. The main street is packed with beauty salons. There must be some women who want to know how much they weigh…
Lino Hellings – Bishkek Lab

You can receive the service in the street or invite the craftsman into your home. ‘Northern Nigerians doing pedicures and manicures for the public without knowing the danger of distributing…
Israel Ophori – Lagos Lab

From street to street you enter new music clouds. Together with the Styrofoam boxes on wheels these are the mobile shops of São Paulo.…
Lino Hellings – Sao Paulo Lab

On a rainy afternoon in São Paulo, a woman crosses the road in a downpour with her cart and styrofoam box. Some street vendors carry their products, drink and food…
Felipe Denuzzo – Sao Paulo Lab