The informal sector of the economy includes activities that are not structured according to the economic model of developed nations or those that are completely unregulated and lack formal structure. Nonetheless, this type of work occupies a very important place in the global economy. For want of education or proper training, many of the world’s people manage to survive through doing various odd jobs on the fringes of the mainstream economy. In order to break the cycle of poverty, poor workers must strive toward professionalization by organizing among themselves and asserting their rights. Architects of Change featured: * Albina Ruiz set up an organization called Ciudad Saludable, meaning “healthy city”. It encourages the Peruvian “recyclers” to formally form micro-enterprises. Through this organization, she has enabled many workers to improve their lot in life and helped several cities to effectively manage their waste. * Bagoré Bathily could not understand why his native country imports 90% of the milk consumed by its people, rather than asserting its self-sufficiency. Bagoré and a few of his friends launched Laiterie Berger in 2006, a dairy company dedicated to the development and marketing of milk produced in Senegal. * Séri YOULOU and Thomas GRANIER/ THE NUBIAN VAULT AND THE AVN The Nubian vault is an ancient architectural technique originating in Upper Egypt. Thomas Granier and Séri Youlou adapted it to sub-Saharan Africa. Their organization, the AVN, provides sub-Saharan Africans with the training they need to build Nubian-style houses as an alternative to the inadequate tin-roofed houses. In addition to obtaining sustainable housing at a reasonable cost, the trained workers are then encouraged to set up as independent contractors in their area.