Men are born to toil as the sparks fly upward

Steel recycled from scrapped ships is fed into a rolling steel mechanism, where it is heated in furnaces until it glows red-hot. This method of steel rolling, rooted in industrial processes developed during the late eighteenth century, continues today in small-scale mills powered as much by manual labour as by machinery. These furnaces were once powered by gas, but increasingly unreliable supply has forced a return to coal as the primary fuel source.

Once heated, the steel is passed through a sequence of rollers, each one gradually shaping and refining the metal as it moves through the process.

The work is demanding both physically and mentally. Workers must remain constantly alert, as even a brief lapse in concentration can result in severe burns or far more serious injury. Western standards of health and safety are largely absent; many workers wear only basic clothing, with some even working in flip-flops despite the extreme heat and danger surrounding them.

These small-scale industrial sites—often described as cottage industries—are scattered across the country, collectively producing the steel that feeds into construction and other key sectors.