Nearly everyone in Nalaikh, Mongolia, ekes out a living by scavenging coal from abandoned mine shafts and selling it.
Coal dust stiffens their hair and clothes and collects in the creases in their faces.
Jargal searches for clothes for Birdhan and Hasanbek. They live in two rooms. The lives of Jargal and her family are black with coal. Coal collects in the creases in their burnished faces, gathers under their fingernails and pits their skin. Coal dust stiffens their hair and clothes.