Scaling cleaner and socially responsive brick production in Sindh, Pakistan

About the training

The current training program is jointly organized by ICIMOD, Brick Kiln Owner’s Association Pakistan (BKOAP), Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Our main intention is not only to provide practical understanding on Zig-Zag brick kilns construction and firing technology, but it is also about imparting experiences on cleaner brick production processes considering gender responsive social safeguards and safety measures though the curricula institutionalization in Technical Education and Vocational Training Association (TEVTA) by capitalizing on the roles of Brick Kilns Associations in Pakistan and Nepal.

Objectives

The main objective of the training programme is to develop capacity at various levels to scale cleaner and socially response brick production in Sindh Province, Pakistan. The training capitalizes the expertise of Federation of Asian Brick Kiln Association (FABKA) network particularly, Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI) and BKOAP as resource persons.  The specific objectives of the training are-

• To provide a common platform for knowledge and experiences sharing for cross learning from Nepal, and Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.
• To build capacity on cost-effective solutions for cleaner brick production (improved brick kilns design & firing technologies), social code of conduct and the best kiln operating practices.
• To introduce curricula on Zig-Zag technology and Social Code of Conduct to brick kiln owners, technicians and officials from environment protection agency, technical education and vocational training association from Sindh Province of Pakistan for ownership and its institutionalization.

Target audience

Participants include brick kiln owners, firemen, stackers and workers of brick kiln from Sindh Province, EPA-Sindh, TEVTA-Sindh, government agencies, regulatory bodies and international agencies affiliated with the brick industry.

Outcomes

• Trained brick kiln owners with skilled firemen and stackers capable to best operate Zig-Zag kilns in Sindh Province
• Officials from Sindh Environment Protection Authority (SEPA) sensitized to create enabling policy environment to develop specific regulations for brick sectors, ensuring compliance and providing appropriate support to brick kiln owners for transitioning to cleaner technologies.
• Ownership of curricula on cleaner brick production and social code of conduct for institutionalization by TEVTA-Sindh.

Background

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental organization working across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. In collaboration with the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and FCDO (then DFID) it has been working towards mitigating black carbon and CO2 emissions from brick production in the region and in South Asia. Apart from the cleaner technological innovations in the brick kilns, it has also integrated Social Code of Conduct (SCoC) for social safety measures of brick kiln workers. With the support of the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC), ICIMOD introduced Zig Zag kilns in Pakistan back in 2017. Since then, it is actively engaged with the MoCC, Brick Kiln Owners Association of Pakistan (BKOAP) and various other technical departments like Pak-EPA, EPD –Punjab, PDMA, NEECA to facilitate the transition of traditional kilns to Zig Zag kilns.

Pakistan’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2021 focuses on conversion of conventional kilns to zig zag kilns as a tracking indicator and specifies that the learning will be replicated in other provinces. Based on the massive voluntarily uptake/adoption of Zig-Zag brick kilns technology in Punjab province and later due to mandatory compliance with the EPD Punjab notification, there were several demands on capacity building for scaling it to other provinces in Pakistan.

Considering Sindh’s critical role in national reconstruction efforts due to 2022 massive flooding in Pakistan, where brick production is essential for rebuilding infrastructure, there is a strategic imperative to adopt sustainable technologies in the brick kiln sector. With an estimated 5,000 operational kilns, Sindh is poised for impactful transformation through the adoption of cleaner, more efficient practices like Zig-Zag technology, a shift strongly supported by the province’s climate policy and other stakeholders committed to green recovery initiatives.

The current training program is jointly organized by ICIMOD, Brick Kiln Owner’s Association Pakistan (BKOAP), Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Our main intention is not only to provide practical understanding on Zig-Zag brick kilns construction and firing technology, but it is also about imparting experiences on cleaner brick production processes considering gender responsive social safeguards and safety measures though the curricula institutionalization in Technical Education and Vocational Training Association (TEVTA) by capitalizing on the roles of Brick Kilns Associations in Pakistan and Nepal.