Throughout northern India, dung-collectors work wherever cows wander the streets. The cows leave their droppings on the street, and alert dung-collectors pick them up and form patties. These are dried in the sun on pavement, stones, and cement walls, before being stacked in huge mounds like the one above in Varanasi.

These dung cakes are sold to neighbors for use as cooking fuel or to provide heat in the winter.