Alice Carfrae

With the fear of peak oil crisis looming, a rapidly expanding population, and house prices ever beyond grasp, an increasing number of future homes will not be houses as we traditionaly think of them. We either tend to romanticise these ‘alternatives’ as a green escape, or see temporary structures belonging to third world slums. But against the desire of the planning officers, an ever increasing number of British people have turned their backs on conventional living are now choosing an alternative to the traditional house. I have begun to document some of these unconventional dwellings and those who choose to live in them.

At the beginning of an interview I always ask the interviewee if they would like to remain anonymous and have their identity and location hidden and this is how she responded: “Why should I hide from others my reality? I have to take care of my kids. Why should I hide my story? What happened to me was not my fault." Indra Maya Poudel is 29 years old. She left her family in Nepal to work in Kuwait as a maid. She was promised a salary of 70 dinar per month. Instead Indra was trafficked. She was forced into prostitution, raped, tortured, beaten and abused. She managed to escape by climbing down the side of a 20-story building using electrical wire. Her story is not uncommon among female workers, who migrate to find work aboard in the hopes of providing a better life for their families. Staff at the Safe Migration booth at Kathmandu’s Airport told me that they have to co-ordinate the transportation of around 80 bodies per month flown back from Gulf countries. They tell me that they receive the bodies of 4 young Nepali women a week. I would like to pay respect to Indra for...

A project on the trafficking of women from Nepal to the Middle East

Human trafficking or ‘sex trafficking’ is a global phenomenon that is driven by demand and fuelled by poverty and unemployment (UNFPA 2006). Globally, it has become a great challenge. It is considered to be the fastest growing criminal business in the world. Nepal is one of the major source countries for trafficked victims in South Asia. It has been estimated that, every year around 12, 000 Nepalese girls and women are trafficked to India from Nepal. Most of these girls and women end up enslaved in the brothels of Indian cities such as Mumbai, where it is estimated as many as 30, 000 Nepalese girls and women can be found at any time. In Nepal, trafficking relies upon a deep-rooted vulnerability of women and children caused by various social issues. Moreover, the growing demand in the market for the preference of Nepalese girls by clients as well as by the brothel owners tends to perpetuate this crime. I travelled to Nepal to meet some of the survivors of trafficking who hope that by sharing their stories and breaking some of the social stigma around trafficking, they may be able to help prevent it from happening to others. Some of these...

With the fear of peak oil crisis looming, a rapidly expanding population, and house prices ever beyond grasp, an increasing number of future homes will not be houses. We either tend to romanticise these ‘alternatives’ as a green escape, or see temporary structures belonging to third world slums. But against the desire of the planning officers, an ever increasing number of British people have turned their backs on conventional living are now choosing an alternative to the traditional house. I have begun to document some of these unconventional dwellings and those who choose to live in them.

This is Zany’s story. Zany is a twelve-year-old girl growing up on a traveller’s site in South Devon, both parents are addicts. I befriended Zany whilst visiting the site to photograph another project and I was struck by her strength of character the resilience she has, but also her vulnerability as a child about to become a young woman. I wanted to make a series of portraits that give an insight into her world. Her freedom, being able to explore where she likes, leading a gang of other children and using the site as their playground. The secret places where she goes to watch deer, the joy of eating cake mixture without baking, the many pets she keeps and then loses to the site dogs. With an absence of conventional parental care Zany is making her own path to adulthood.

' water always comes with an ego and an alter ego' This is an ongoing project whereby I am documenting my journey along the River Dart. The changing landscape and the characters encountered. The work is like an early map where much of the landscape is assumed, there is a sense of mystery and mythology to the people and place that when stitched together creates a narrative of the river.

Donor Conception is a process in which a child is conceived via sperm or egg donation. It is a relatively new technology and very little is know about the possible repercussions on those born using this method. Donor conceived people may never learn of their true birth origins as information about their true biological parents is not recorded on the birth certificate. This is compounded by the fact that only a small proportion (av. 10%) of donor conceived people will ever, be informed of the true nature of their conception by the parents. The first big wave of donor-conceived children, born during the fertility industry boom of the 1980s, is now coming of age. Vocal, motivated and often furious, these young men and women are banding together to tell the fertility community that they think anonymous donation is wrong. They say it is their intrinsic right to know their genetic background. And that they are being denied critical information about their medical history, that they are worried they might unknowingly evan have a relationship with a half-sibling. Early donor conception methods were unregulated a in the case of sperm donation a donor conceived person could potentially have up to 300...