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  The Charcoal Project originates in the Ulingan community in Manila where thousands of Filipino urban slum dwellers live amid filth and swirls of toxic smoke, eking out a living making charcoal. The combined smell of the dense sea, burning charcoal, and decaying waste greets one at the mouth of the village, foreshadowing the extreme conditions within the community. I visited this community in 2008 and again in 2011, spending time with the families, developing relationships and documenting their living conditions which are entirely dependent on toxic charcoal production. What I discovered is that while charcoal production is a vital necessity in this community and in many other third world areas that have no other energy alternatives, the destructive ramifications of its production penetrate both locally and globally.