"Making India" Swach !

The idea of Swach Bharath is definitely a positive one. Before we bask in the goodness of the new political agenda, why don't we ask some fundamental questions about the term "Swach". Will holding brooms solve any issues ? Littering has been an age old habit - the difference we have is in the type of material we litter. In olden times we littered banana leaves while travelling by train that added more nutrition into the soil. Today we litter aluminum foils that wrap chapathis or kurkure / lays packets that can never be recycled ! 

The core issues lie in manufacturing, toxic waste disposal, packaging , toxic industries in close proximity to our food and water sources (forests, rivers and agricultural land). Can a govt who has shown such amazing speed in clearing industrial projects think of stopping a process that would be hard on the mass producing industries ? Below are my humble views working in waste management at the urban level.

Swach Bharath should be about enforcement of existing laws that would instill "right behaviour" in the mass producing industries. Can the new Govt  bend the industry to bring in targets for waste reduction at a policy level for every Industry segment ? Can there be targets set for every big city to reduce their dependency on landfills ? 

1. STOP industries dumping toxic effluents into the Gangas and Cauveries of this country.

2. STOP category A toxic industries coming up in the ECO Fragile areas - all over Western ghats, all over Himalayas ; close proximity to forests, rivers, lakes and any natural body

3. STOP giving permission to start new landfills and reduce burden on existing ones

4. Ban all plastic covers from all shops, irrespective of microns. Start with malls first and then move to smaller vendors. 

5.Ban tetrapacks that are energy intensive to recycle

6.Stop the Kurukures, lays manufactures of India packing in 3 layer packaging that is impossible to recycle 

7.Stop sanitary pad makers remove the plastic lining that junks the rivers, streams and water bodies . Promote groups like Eco Femme as womens' collective in villages .

8. Ask all cellphone industry to start a unit for "REPAIR" which is cost effective for consumers. Provide incentive for sending old phones to recycling units

9. STOP manufacturing CFL and promote LEDs

10. Enforce medical waste handling for every hospital that is given permission to operate

 11. Start eWaste and Medical waste recycling facility in every town. Provide more dry waste collection centres.

12. Give permission to open up food joints/ greater than 200 sized apartments / malls only with a biogas implementation. Old food joints should be charged penalty for not implementing wet waste handling at source. 

13. SHUT down polluting industries causing human and animal health issues

and the list goes on..

Fundamentally when we allow "make in India" , the foreign companies MUST cater to the environmental laws of this country so that we do not have another Union Carbide or Plachimada repeating.  "Swach " must start in the minds of the politicians in ensuring the intentions are truly "pro people" - " people" means those from the lowest strata of this country and not the high profile industries of this country.

 Let the Pourakarmikas hold the brooms .  The govt can ensure they are paid well for handling what the ministers cannot do. Ministers SHOULD go beyond the brooms and ensure atleast the list above is catered to in every nook and corner of India. 

Borrowing Water from our children

My childhood was spent in valleys and scrub forests closer to the foot hills of Western ghats. I have vivid memories of  Vythiri mountains travelling through the winding roads of the 10 hair pin bends . One of the favourite memories of these annual vacations was the sighting of a lion tailed macaque on the 7th hairpin bend and the occasional stop over at the numerous streams to refill our drinking water source. I have loved the mountains and rivers as a child and when I grew up after spending 8 years into my IT job I realised my first love had always been nature. The reconnecting with nature happened under a banyan tree in Auroville and then there was no looking back. If  I have to die for a cause, it must be fighting for mother earth. 

The recent reports of Prof Madhav Gadgil to protect Western Ghats drew more curiosity in me to understand the need for conserving Western Ghats. It is known as the "biodiversity hotspot", all 44 perennial rivers of Kerala originate in these mountains , the majestic mountains force moisture laden winds coming off the Arabian sea to rise and receive in consequence heavy precipitation of 2000mm or more in year - commonly known as "monsoon" .The finance minister admits the economy of India is largely dependent on monsoons and monsoon is dependent on Western Ghats - geologically and biologically. Western Ghats is also known as the "water tower" of peninsular India -  nearly 4000 species of flowering plants or about 27% of the India's total species are known from the Ghats, of 645 species of evergreen trees  about 56% is endemic to the Ghats and the list goes on. To  an ordinary citizen like me, these biodiversity ranges represent food/ medicine  and  water security and   natural sequester of the much debated carbon dioxide - the contributor of global warming covering the three basic essential needs of homo sapiens - Air, Water and Food/ medicine.

There is a restlessness that has crept in my mind after few recent trips to the Kerala side of the ghats . Constantly one can see biodiverse patches being razed for monoculture crops like rubber , ginger  . Earlier coffee used to be grown under the shade of evergreen trees, but now there is systematic razing of  forest species to give way for  silver oak - the exotic timber species from Australia. Our quest to build palacial bunglows using granite has led to sprouting of quarries in these hydrologically and geologically fragile areas in the past decade. Our quest for travelling luxuriously has led to change in land use pattern from agro - based to resort based economy . One hydro electric project can sink many such landscapes and forest patches. In effect, locals find it difficult to buy farms as the land prices have sky rocketed - an age old practice of "farming" is projected as "unsustainable" because of vested interests pumping  money ( black or white ? ) into the system.The outcome - educated are at the behest of politicians , business men and govt officials who have  turned into real estate brokers or lobbyists for the mafia  impacting the  landscapes, hydrology and biodiversity of Western Ghats.

Shola Grasslands act as "Water Sinks"

Importance of Shola grasslands 

Wayanad is home to 3 major  rivers from the Western Ghats (Panamaram river, Manantavady river, Thirunelli river) flowing from the shola grasslands which eventually joins Kabani in Karnataka. Kabani (tributary of Cauvery river ) is a sixth order river and many many rivulets from the evergreen and shola forest patches form rivers that support major taluks Kalpetta, Manantavady and Sultan Battery. Many west flowing rivers like the mighty Chaliyar, Mahe Puzha, Kuttiyadi and Korapuzha river has its origins in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats in Wayanad and Nilgiri. Shola grasslands are the water sinks of the western ghats. They retain most of the rain they get over the monsoons and release it slowly through the year via a network of streams and rivers that eventually serve the needs of a huge number of human settlement across south India. The  Sholas are a mosaic of mountain evergreen forests and grasslands. They are found only in high altitude (> 1500 m ASL) regions within the tropics, and are limited to the southern part of the Western Ghats. 

In effect Shlolas and grasslands ensure the rivers on which the livelihood of millions are dependent are remaining perennial water source during periods of no rain.

Sholas and grasslands form a complete eco system .Many of these are endemic to the Western Ghats and some come under the category, 'rare' and 'threatened'.  Fire resistant temperate species dominate the fringes which act as natural fire belt

Table shows the various forests and mountains from where the rivulets originate to form major rivers

The striking factor is the importance of these "not so significant mountains in the tourist map" as the source of drinking water and its importance in hydrology and geology of the land. Every evergreen forest with its' diverse forest species act like a sponge during the monsoon and slowly releasing water during the dry months. Nature's water control mechanism is visible in all these mountain peaks. 

Human atrocities on Mountains and Rivers of Wayanad

Quarrying : There were atleast 15 illegal quarries run inside the forest land for the past 30 years which was stopped by the local officials.  Many more run outside the forests causing high level of air pollution to children and adults. These are run flouting safety rules of less than 10 m from human inhabitation. Quarries are like scars of mother earth - they deplete the ground water sources, make the land prone to landslides . Once the landscape is gone there is no scope for planting anything on it. This is an irreversible process.

Phantom Rock, as the name suggests, is blocks of huge rocks in the shape of a human skull. During the season, a lot of visitors, including foreigners, reach here to see this wonder of nature. As many as 50 granite quarries near the rock are posing serious threats to this exquisite formation. Below is Phantom rock : Pic Courtesy EM Manoj , The Hindu. 

The quarries have just spared the Phantom rock and are eating away the surrounding landscapes causing serious health issues to people living around it. Children constantly live in fear of being hit by stones from the blasts of the quarry. Tribes have been dependent on these mountains for centuries and in less than a decade we have depleted their land and water.

Unsustainable Tourism : Landscapes of Wayanad are the attraction for tourists . They have the power to connect you spritually with nature's settings. Chembra , Banasura peaks are complete with its' foothills also intact. Uncontrolled development is spreading like cancer in these landscapes .  Forest lands are eaten away in the name of "eco tourism" . Once a quiet historical point of Vythiri is now eaten away by roadside resorts, multi storeyed apartments. There are no standards set by the government on segregation of waste and its safe disposal / recycling / composting. Many restaurants continue to give away "use and throw" plates, spoons and glasses which add to the volumes of waste that Wayanad is generating in its eco sensitive zone. Waste is also dumped on the Shola forest patches/ river beds and many times the forest department has to fight with local panchayats. Read http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/row-over-dumping-of-garbage-in-forest-area/article4549582.ece

The general tendency for any tourist place is to become over crowded. Crowd  attracts traffic , noise pollution and generates volumes of  "un managed waste" in the form of "Kurkure /lays covers" that are non recyclable .

Crowded spots of tourism causing point pollution

Non Recyclable packets are sold 

Eating into shola grass lands - Eye sore for landscape - Imagine converting the entire mountain with homestays and resorts. Uncontrolled development will be the end of Western Ghats in Wayanad

Foothills of Chembra being eaten away by homestays and resorts . Conversion of farmlands are rampant with tourism

We as customers can  ask a few questions to ensure environmentally sustainable tourism : 

1. Are these resorts built on forest land or have impacted shola or evergreen patches ?
2. How are they disposing their solid waste and waste water ? 
3. Are styrofoam plates and cups banned in Wayanad hotels and restaurants  ?
4. Is there a ban on plastic covers in local shops and restaurants ?
5. What kind of chemical free detergents are used to reduce impacts on surface and ground water ?
6. Are they creating habitat loss for large mammals like elephants and tigers ? 
7. How is  district administration  auditing the practices followed by these resorts ?
8. How are local environmental samithis treated if there are complaints raised on environmental practices followed by resorts and other point pollution areas ?

How can we as consumers travel responsibly to environmentally fragile places : 

1. Can we say NO to Kurkure and Lays while visiting these pristine landscapes ? 
2. Can women start using Ecofemme sanitary pads and not contaminate the rivers and forests . Sanitary pads cannot be recycled and goes to landfills http://ecofemme.org/ 
3. Can we ensure we do not throw any kind of plastic/ paper litter inside the reserves or any other place ?
4. Can we ensure we travel at 40km per hour inside a wildlife sanctuary or a national park to avoid surprises with large mammals ?
5. Can we ensure the plastics we carry are taken back home and not left in these eco destinations ?
6. Can we abide by the rules of the forest and not feed or tease animals ? 
7. Can we ensure we carry our own water bottles and look for places for refill rather than depending on bisleri and acquafina ?
8. Can we ensure we do not dump anything into the common dustbins causing more volume of waste for disposal and management ?
9. Can we start camping in farms rather than asking for luxurious constructions in pristine landscapes ? OR stay in hotels closer to towns rather than on resorts built altering landscapes.
10. Can we overall reduce our needs and wants while travelling and be willing to compromise on luxury ?

Can we say "NO" to places like Wayand where there is no limitation to convert landscapes into resorts, apartments and multi storeyed buildings ? Can we as customers show our purchasing power on "right governance " ?

"Unsustainable" Development:

The shola forest and grasslands in the picture below are the main source of water to Pookode lake,  a famous tourist destination in Wayand. This pernnial fresh water lake, nestled among wooded hills, is the only of its kinds in Kerala.Pethia pookodensis is a species of fish known to occur only in Pookode lake. The lake has abundance of blue lotus and fresh water fishes. The forests surrounding the lake hold many wild animals and birds.

Various groups including Kerala veterinary and animal sciences university has acquired 3000 acres of forest/ tribal land for developing as concrete campus. The phase I of the construction is complete. The picture shows how one of the main buildings is built on the shola grassland. Few mountains were already mowed down for these constructions. There were two lakes inside the campus used by the tribals - one is converted into a playground.

Buildings cutting the shola forest patches

The proposed sheep farm is planned right above the rivulet to Pookode lake. Planned contamination of water

The master plan of veterinary construction was obtained through RTI . The plan includes a helipad, indoor stadium and close to 30 concrete buildings on the shola grasslands.  Above all, tribal land is being diverted for large scale development purposes on shola grasslands. The university claims there are no trees on the land when they started construction. Wish they knew the importance of shola grasslands !!! 

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/veterinary-varsity-works-raise-ecosystem-issues/article5206059.ece

The master plan of the university campus gives a glimpse  of how large scale conversion of shola grasslands  to concrete structures would be done in a planned manner.Converting shola grassland would have adverse impacts on water holding/ releasing capacity.  The proposed sheep farm inside the campus will  also dump heavy loads of animal waste into the shola forest and the rivulets connecting the feeder to Pookode lake. These human interference in massive scale would mean slow death of rivers and the lake itself.  

Similar to the Pookode project is the plan to convert 100 hectares of  wetlands into an international airport near Panamaram when there are 2 airports 3 hours away (Kozhikode and Kannur ). The impact would be taking hectares of mountains elsewhere to fill the wetlands, quarrying granite from nearby hills . The impact is just not restricted to the identified place in Panamaram but to other places where landscapes would be altered to build the airport. 

Pookode and Panamaram are just examples of how large scale development project on eco fragile lands could adversely impact large sections of pristine landscapes, rivers , mountains and paddy fields that would provide food and water to locals dependent on them. These are natural systems that has evolved over millions of years and one such "development " project would completely annihilate the ecology linked to landscape forever . The impact would be slow death of rivers, drought, lack of ground water.

 It is important that we DO NOT support multi crore projects tampering with fragile ecosystems. This would be equivalent to cutting the branch of the tree we are sitting on . There are many places in the plains where  university or airport could have been planned. Why choose Wayanad which is part of the biodiversity hotspot ? Don't we have the responsibility to ensure that our next generation can meet their basic needs ? (Especially water )

Shifting our lifestyles 
Western countries have started realising their folly of unsustainable development over the past few decades. Many large corporations have started adopting LEED certification and adopting green building practices. Many people have started adopting simpler lifestyles using cob, adobe, rammed earth as construction material for their individual needs within and outside India.

1. If we already own homes can we stop thinking of buying new ones and also changing the granite ,marble slabs in our rooms for aesthetics ? 
2. Can we think of local mud as a main medium for construction instead of depending on granite /marble quarries . It takes millions of years to form these rocks . Quarrying affects the local population's health and the hydology and geology of the land.
3. Can we look at planting trees which would supply wood for our construction later on ? Teak, bamboo, areca if grown on your own land can become good renewable material for future building. Dependence on forests endlesslessly for wood is unsustainable.
4. Can we adopt green building practices while constructing without altering the landscapes, moving mountains and mud ? 
5. Can we start composting our waste at source and depend on natural light in our homes ? (Reduction of waste and energy )
6. Can we ask the local administration to bring in policies to use JCB in hilly areas. The use of JCB would trigger landslides in these fragile lands that are heavily deforested of its' native species.

For more information on mud construction techniques in India : http://www.youtube.com/antiismistix
and also read the book "Little Home on a Small Planet"

Living roof homes

Protecting our landscapes and forests

There are heroes of our times who have been doing the herculean task of safeguarding the forests. Ethical forest officers, lawyers, media, eco samithis make up the best possible combination of ensuring vested interests do not prevail and eat up the landscapes and forests. They fight  very tough battles to ensure our food and water security.  

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/encroachments-in-munnar-rape-of-nature-hc/article87553.ece

http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/06/stories/2005100612970100.htm

http://archive.asianage.com/india/forest-officer-single-handedly-reclaims-6000-acres-3-years-911

Seven generation sustainability

There is a famous great law of the Iroquois  : "In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation ... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine". Seven generation sustainability is an ecological concept that urges the current generation of humans to live sustainably and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future. This holds appropriate to think seven generations ahead ( about 140 years into the future) and decide whether the decisions they make today would benefit their children seven generations into the future.  

Borrowing from our children

I travel through the Vythiri hair pin bends quite often these days. My heart feels heavy seeing the encroachment of forests on the mountains. Illegal areca/ rubber plantations, hotels , road side vendors cashing from the views of hills  are eating away the pristine evergreen forests.  The highly endangered lion tailed macaques would have shifted its' habitat from the Vythiri hills , probably they will never return .... I know I will never be able to experience that oneness with nature  in these hills when the mountains are stripped off its' stones and hills are denuded for timber.

Our forests, mountains and rivers are borrowed from our children. We have no right to allow any politician to control our lands in the name of tourism , unsustainable development and quarrying. The local tribes have conserved these places for centuries. In  half a decade the greed for more money is depleting our rivers and forests.

 It is immaterial if we intellectually support Prof Madhav Gadgil's recommendations for Western Ghats - the reality is Western Ghats need to be conserved for millions of people dependent on these mountains and  its' water, medicinal plants and forests into our seventh generation. It is the duty of every citizen to conserve it . Let us not allow religious leaders , politicians, govt officers with vested interest on land to take decisions for our posterity. We have the right as consumer to demand for sustainable tourism . Green thinking must go beyond mere planting of trees to large scale conservation of eco fragile landscapes within and outside forest boundaries .

Voice YOUR Opinions
Write to Wayanad collector and ask for sustainable tourism in the hills.

• 0493-6202230
  0493-6203450(F)
  0493-6202300(R)Mobile; 9447204666E- mail: dcwayanad@gmail.com

References :

http://docs.kfri.res.in/KFRI-RR/KFRI-RR218.pdf

CESS Reports

http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/documents/rivers.htm

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/4046/7/07_chapter%201.pdf

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/16941/1/IJMS%2042%282%29%20211-222.pdf

Waste and Food Management : Our ancestral way

After a year long journey with waste, the data on waste impresses those who wish to sustain the project economically. For someone who cares about humanity and planet earth, there are few disturbing questions that arise in our minds about our consumerism. 

I remember we generated 650 Kg of plastic covers in 6 months . The material weight do not give any significant number, but in terms of volumes it meant one full truck of plastic covers generated from 220 houses in 6 months. I knew there was money coming from the material, but the shocking aspect to me was that we were generating so much material from a small community . It reminds me of story of stuff (www.storyofstuff.org), it reminds me of the whole material economy. Even if we were to recycle these, it would just be transformed into another plastic product with energy input that goes into recycling. Recycling , should be our last option for waste management.

More than 650Kg of plastic covers being loaded onto one truck. The truck doesn't have any other material, ONLY plastic covers..

The day I started segregation at source way back in year 2007, one item that we decided to REDUCE was plastic covers. I remember my friends saying that they REUSE them as trash liners . Well, these are toxic liners which finally finds its way into the landfills mixed with food waste. 220 apartments has the potential to dump a minimum of 220 plastic covers reaching landfills per day, which is 79,200 plastic covers reaching landfills in a year ! If we dump our vegetable waste into these plastic liners, then the waste has the potential to stink faster before it reaches the compost pits. Plastic covers as liner on your trash can is not eco friendly in any way. In order to keep our bins clean, I have seen many consumers demand more plastic covers from the retail outlets ! So then what are our options of REDUCE and REUSE ? I like to give options of REDUCE , since that is the only sustainable way to do effective waste management ... We all agree that these are surely not convenient options. Our convenience has caused inconvenience to the planet and posterity.. Can we collectively care to lead a lesser convenient lifestyle ? How can we as consumers be powerful agents of this change ?

Going back to my grandmother's and my mom's younger days, I was trying to recollect what we used to do .. what was our lifestyle ? and there weren't so much trouble with waste.


1.SAY NO to PLASTIC COVERS, Take Your own shopping bag :  Jute bags for grocery and cloth bags that found their way into my vanity bags and bag packs were my options for shopping.(www.smallsteps.in).

I remember one incident in Tyson's mall , Virginia, USA where I carried my own bag and the lady at the billing counter refused to bill without her plastic cover citing security reasons. That was one place where I had to react - we took the plastic cover, went out of the mall, and came back with the plastic cover and returned at the desk - Security concern needs to be straightened out at the store  for concern for greener planet.  I stopped going to Big Bazar in India when they stopped me from taking my jute bag. I stopped buying vegetables from huge supermarkets when I realised there were loads of LD Nice plastic covers that were finding its way through the vegetables in these supermarkets. The natural option for me was my next door vegetable vendor or HOPCOMS in Bangalore.

In the long run, when I look back all these years of avoiding supermarkets for weekend shopping, I found out few behavioural changes in us :

a.We take a shopping list , since we go with one or two bags for shopping. We also ensure that we buy WHAT WE REALLY NEED . Since we had to carry the items, our list was optimised and would ensure WE DO NOT overstock

b. Ensured we buy locally as much as possible, which means we were buying closer to where we live . Our fuel expenses for shopping was almost nil . We either club our shopping with other items on our way back or we buy from walkable distances. The local vendor has anyway spent the fuel for transporting, we need not burn more.

c. Combine your shopping with other needs : Skyrocketing petrol prices are indeed good news for the environment . Money is the only way to peg the unsatiating hunger for wants..Keep a bag in your vehicle and combine your shopping needs if you need a specific item which is not locally available.

d.Our needs are based on locally available, seasonal products and not globally produced products that have travelled around the globe.

2. CHANGE YOUR CONSUMPTION

Some of the products that caught our attention were juice tetrapaks, shampoo sachets, biscuit and chips packets (Lays, Kurkure), noodles . From the viewpoint of waste, they were wrapped in more durable multi layer, multi material packaging which was difficult to recycle - Lays packets have an aluminum coating mixed with plastic which cannot be recycled. There was also growing concern about the nature of the food items which were carefully wrapped in these. Deadly chemicals like aspamarte, mono sodium glutamate, transfats, high fructose corn syrup found its way into multitude of common products like tomato ketchup, noodles, kurkure, lays, biscuits, tropicana juices and the list is on and on and on.. Our health is not for corporations to make money, our health is for us to lead a  healthy life till the purpose of our soul is attained in this lifetime. We decided not to be addicts to this multitude chemicals that find its' way into our homes.


What was the change in lifestyle ?
a) We started cooking more wholesome food. Sprouted wheat, red rice, fresh vegetables, jaggery as substitute for sugar, became common items on our table.


b) Dosa batter was ground with organic red rice in order to ensure there is enough mineral supplement in our diet and rice was not just made of starch and the less tasty white rice.

c) Sprouted dals became more often increasing our protein intake through vegetables


e) Home made juices were made and stored in summer . Ginger-lemon-jaggery extract, fresh orange pulp which can be stored for a week, fresh moosambi pulp , goosbery-lemon-ginger extract - all these were not just fresh juices but they also provided good nutrition

f) Reduce take away packets from restaurants and darshinis .

g) Fish was bought in steel containers instead of wrapping in plastic covers which will find its' way to landfills (plastic covers mixed with stinking waste cannot be stored and hence has to be thrown)

h) Dump cleaner : When milk covers had to be dumped, the cover was rinsed . All this organic water that is used for rinsing waste, can be collected and used for watering plants . The plastic covers are then air dried before sending for recycling.

i) Use newspapers instead of plastic covers: Eco friendly packaging is important if one has to carry stuff like bananas from our hometown. We use newspapers to wrap them instead of plastic covers

j) Carrying food : Food can always be packaged in steel or reusable tiffin carrier . Take a cloth towel for wiping after eating. It reduces use of tissues which are made from virgin wood (using tissues is equivalent to cutting trees )

All this obviously had a positive effect on our food bill since the processed food were more expensive for the quantity and quality of food it provided. We were able to divert that money to more organic and healthier food.

Plastic covers with aluminum coating inside are non recyclable. The food they carry also carry the risk of diabetes, cholestrol, BP . Then why do we eat these junk food ?

 3. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

Apple on 19th May 2011

My husband Rajesh ,  got this green looking apple as part of a fruit meal on April 20, 2011 in Luft Hansa flight No.LH754 from Frankfurt to Bangalore. He brought it home and kept it on the dining table in the ambient temperature of 30 deg C. Nothing happened to the fruit. The first picture which is green in colour was taken on May 19, a month after it was brought. It shows no tendency to rot or ripen.

Finally, the apple rotted in July 2011. One wonders about the real age of this fruit and the toxic chemicals used to preserve it looking like fresh.  Do we know when the fruits and vegetables we eat were plucked ?

Apple on Jul 2011

Compost from food waste

Egg shell powder from waste -Calcium for plants

Panchagavya

This growing concern of the age of the vegetables and fruits , increased packaging and improved "shelf life in super markets" and heavy use of fossil fuel based chemicals and pesticide has driven us to start our own kitchen garden. My garden  is in its' nascent stage. But there is one clear sign, we can convert food to food. The compost we generate from waste is a rich resource that we can use to produce food . Egg shell powder is a calcium supplement for the soil - we need not junk it as waste. Cow dung can be stored in the form of panchagavyam for longer duration and applied at regular intervals as organic plant promoter. These are some of the applications of waste to produce one's own food. For more success stories on growing your own food visit : http://www.facebook.com/groups/OrganicTerraceGardening/

 

Lessons from our ancestors:

Afterall, there is nothing new in this blog .. I remember this is what my mom and grandmother used to do when I was young . If we try to recollect our childhood in early 1980s, we can associate ourselves to a simpler way of life with no waste and a healthier living. Let us go back to what our ancestors were doing and take charge of our food and waste on our own. Large corporations do not have the right to rule this planet at the cost of our health and at the cost of a cleaner environment for posterity.

We welcome more thoughts and suggestions to lead an eco friendlier living..

Zero Waste Journey 5 : People Sustainability

Continued from zero waste series : Continuing from the Zero Waste Journey series .. AID Supported project at Tungabhadra Block, NGV, Bangalore . Topic Sustainability :People



People Sustainability 
 If we tend to think that something is NOT possible in  implementing waste management , it is ONLY the human factor - environmentally and economically it is possible to implement zero waste management . To give you few instances of people sustainability I need to narrate few incidents  in our community.  To me, this is the most important aspect and forms the basis of a strong foundation of "change" ... At personal level, one  must be prepared for an internal change at  spiritual level.. 


Labour - The change in attitude:
From day one, the old local team trained by Srinivasan wanted to join back and we never gave them an opportunity. We decided to let them go.. so that those who are really in need of a job would come back . By Jan end , we saw the Vellore team leaving considering their impracticality of staying away from family and local old team joining back. Labour problems we faced in the beginning were issues because of right expectation setting, we now operate with an optimal team all trained by Vellore Srinivasan.


Internal politics within management committee :
As far as few people within the association were concerned, it was AID project and no one within residents' welfare association need to be part of this. They felt it was not their duty to be overseeing anything related to ZWM ! When the project was started, we approached the local cleaning contractor to extend their team for managing waste. Internal politics within management committee members ensured this never happened - there were few women MC  members who gave adequate ignition to the local contractor to refrain from doing any ZWM work .  I must mention that the women members who were vehemently opposing ZWM to be clubbed with cleaning were NOT anti waste management, somehow they  did not understand the principles and advantages of "optimized team" ! 


We ignored all this , and went ahead with direct labour recruitment - we could have abandoned the project for lack of support, but never felt like doing that.. We thought , this could be few challenges that are thrown before the project to survive . Srinivasan says, we need to be put through tough situations to come out stronger.. Yes it is true, the coming days were indeed tough..


Single agency to manage cleaning and ZWM :
October and   Nov 2011 were the toughest months for us - one side we were struggling with labour issues and for the first time, we tried to involve management committee in the process of making them understand how important it is to combine cleaning and waste management through a single contracting company. There was a voting done and the majority voted for single agency to manage waste management and cleaning with two members opposing . Once the meeting was over, they conspired and there were emails as response to the secretary's minutes of the meeting saying "the voting was all farce "! The same people who voted for single agency, conveniently said "no " ! and once again the decision was dangling like a sword. This indecision costed ZWM close to Rs 25,500 extra  as charges for collecting waste which went out from ZWM sales money ! Eventually with the support of the new management committee, this too was stopped.


To give a gist of the allegations raised by the "educated" society on a waste management project .  

Voice of anti-ZWM management committee members :
A :“Why do you want apartment association to run social cause.If I am interested in social cause I will do in my personal capacity and contribute to ZWM. Not as an association member. We have been given task of running the welfare of Tungabhadra. I am sorry, I am not interested to run ZWM as part of Tungabhadra, like many others.” 

B: “ Prompt collection of waste from residents' home atleast once a day is of utmost importance. what we do with the collected waste is of little interest to the residents in general. The fact of the matter is even if ZWM is not functioning for some time, residents don't care whereas  if waste is not collected for two days and / or the building is not cleaned regularly, complaints will stream in.   So please think about it well before any decision is taken. Also how much more money can be contributed by the maintenance funds towards ZWM needs to be discussed.”  

B wanted the project to be closed within 3 months of execution ...  

C :  Doesn’t like emails sent by co ordinator praising others,   Thinks ZWM co ordinator is doing this for her fame , Wants to evict ZWM staff staying in terrace, Wants bins in all common areas and never came back with solution of managing mixed waste in those common bins
Opines ZWM issues should never be discussed in MC meetings and it is not MC’s problem

D : “There is no point in combining both the activities together (cleanliness and ZWM). 

E : “During the preliminary meeting of the ZWM, Mr. Srinivas ( AID  was promised that  "select the workforce (people)  and train them  for ZWM activities for Tungabhadra".  Now, the SIX months association of AID is completed,  but our trained workforce is at  'ZERO' level  for ZWM project.

F : Doesn't like the estate manager supporting ZWM  :-)

G: Doesn't like trolleys being used for waste collection ! 



 H: ZWM co cordinator has siphoned money from TRWA for ZWM - there is no verification of accounts  before making such statements ! 


A went one more step ahead - Went on a campaign and used ZWM as a scapegoat before a general body meeting that was to decide on an issue that was against her personal interest ! In the general body that was convened during end of November, ZWM was ripped apart - thanks to A's campaign ! Majority of the people who attended had no clue what was going on. Very few people understood that anti ZWM statements were a plot to safegaurd their personal interests. 


 I wish they knew the effort of Vellore Srinivasan who implemented this project, I wish they realised that AID Volunteers in Seattle direct and play stage shows to raise funds in small droplets which finally became our 5 Lakhs.. Not sure even if they had known, they would have cared...  I wish they had all cared for their children's future on this planet... As parents, grandparents, understanding the waste cycle is important to ensure that  we do not trash the earth. We are borrowing every bit of land, every drop of water, every molecule of clean air from the future of the next generation ... There is no room for politics and manipulation when we are dealing with what we do not own ! 


ZWM team's response :
The lesson from the wild is to remain camouflaged . We took December 2011 to attend to few genuine complaints and we never came out in the open nor did we respond to any email correspondence. We removed all the anti ZWM elements from the mailing group - we decided  not to disturb them with the  three letter acronym Z W M !  There was a fear of closure of the project since the old management committee was dissolved. It was because of  people like Hari Madhu (the treasurer ) who had strong ethical and social thinking that ZWM survived till Dec 2011  .   


Concentrate on your strengths and get into positive action: 
We decided to concentrate on positive aspects - there was an increased vigour  to do sales, especially Panchagavya . Somehow we ensured we attend every "Oota from Thotta" organised by citizen matters - Rajesh and Swapna were deadly contributors. They knew how to sell , and we had support from Mayank , Venkat and Pradeep from AID. We diverted our  energy and zeal to make ZWM survive  towards sale ! It was terrific effort and by end of March 2012, we not only optimised our expenses, we also ensured good inflow of money through sale. Beyond this AID distributed pamphlets on ZWM to every single apartment in Tungabhadra to make the neutral people understand the importance of the project.


ZWM , beyond me and you :
I believe that you cannot control what happens , but you can always control how you react to situations. To this day, all the events that we have witnessed,  ZWM is beyond all of us. We are mere spectators of a change, the outcry of the management committee is only a glimpse of this resistance to change . I always remember this statement by Gandhiji “ First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."

The best thing that happened after 5 months of silence  was,  when the new management committee of core members took over , we got an opportunity to objectively explain the project and people issues . It was a make or break and on 21st April 2012, exactly after one year of its' execution the new core management committee (also comprising of old sub committee members who are anti ZWM ), the project was decided to be continued and managed by Tungabhadra Residents' Welfare Association. 

We just need to keep our positive energy and motivation high , rest all is law of nature . ZWM has, should and will continue to run with or without you and me ... It should be a community consciousness and not dependent on individuals. 


Eco consciousness , green thinking and spiritual realisation should be the future world order, all the noise that people create as resistance will just pass.. it has to pass, for the sustainability of homo sapiens as a race.... 


Achievements , in spite of challenges :
1. Tungabhadra , NGV has offset 90% of waste reaching landfills by composting its wet waste and further segregating its dry waste for recycling ie 48 tonnes has been recycled from 54 tonnes of waste generated by the block 
2. The first successful urban model that does both wet and dry waste management  in India emulating the vellore model of waste management 
3. Winer of the Bangalore 'Recyclathon award' in 2011 in the less than 250 apartment category for excellence in waste management - competed with 400 other entries
4. Bangalore Mayor Mrs Sharadamma and 20 BBMP officials had visited Tungabhadra ZWM Centre to understand the entire lifecycle of waste
5. Acknowledge by Karnataka Pollution Control Board as the model to be adopted in the notice sent to all major residential apartments in Bangalore dates 25th Nov 2011
6. Generated enough money to self finance itself with ONLY Rs 60 per apartment per month coming from the association. First model to prove the economic value of waste, generating close to Rs.1,86,364 in 13 months from what is thrown into landfills ! 
7. Obtained a fee waiver of Rs 42 per flat from KHB with effect from Oct 2011 as an incentive for doing waste management and to ensure the monetory benefits are passed on to zero waste management
8. Tungabhadra is now a living example for atleast 3 apartment complexes in Bangalore (HSR Layout, JP Nagar, Ulsoor and a large scale implementation with BBMP participation in Rajarajeswari Nagar _. These apartments take inputs and send visitors to Tungabhadra , NGV to learn about zero waste management
9. Labour challenges were overcome with 4 from the team trained by Srinivasan joining back


Tips to Follow :

1. Ensure the existing contractor for cleaning is also given responsibility to do zero waste management instead of dumping . This is the ONLY way to demand waste management service along with cleaning from contractors who provide services to huge apartment complexes. This has an advantage of having same pool of labour for waste collection and waste segregation - this ensures segregation at source , since the labour who manages waste becomes the true agents of change for the educated society !
2. Continue with constant awareness programs
3. Ignore people with negative thinking, they are always there in the society - but take clues from them if there are geniune corrections to be made - for all you know they make you hone your people skills 
4. Keep the core management committee informed about the financial status and sale proceedings 
5. Ensure proper accounting of sale income and expenses - this is the only proof that will support your project 
6. Take pictures of major events , these are proof of what happened in the past 
7. Ensure under no circumstance we lose our temper with people - this is for the overall benefit of the project - arguments are unnecessary; what is important is our dedication and devotion to work and show outcome - rest will fall in place
8. Involve as many people as possible, while appearing in media - this could still create unavoidable jealousy issues in neighborhood !

Courtesy : The anti ZWM team who helped us in excelling, showing maturity in our reactions and being a strong challenge everytime we intended to relax, this was the trigger for us to generate various graphs , reports and ensure robust sales !


ZWM team of women who are the grass root level workers managing our waste


The different management committees of Tungabhadra  who supported the project from year 2010 - first on initiated, second one implemented, third one is sustaining and improving... 


Mayank Rungta,  Soumya Thontesh, Swapna Manoj, Rajesh who were closely linked during the sales .Dr Meenakshi Bharat who gave her support to involve large number of citizens from outside Tungabhadra to involve and replicate the project. Dr Meenakshi was also instrumental in ensuring some of the medical aspects of ZWM team are ensured. Dhandapany, Ramanath and Ajith who raised funds to sponsor the childrens' education program for the old team. Akshay Yadav and team from Green Commandos who were involved in sharing the AID brochure to all the 220 apartments in Tungabhadra. Mr.Hari Madhu, Rajesh, Mr. Sivaraman, Mr. Behra who supported the project during the previous management committee.  Mr. Alagiri Swami, Capt Prahraj, Manoj Menon ,   Kirti Athreya, Felix A, Santosh Ramakumar, Sunil Khurana from the current management committee who voted for continuing the project.  Many many well wishers and visitors who have supported us and encouraged us ....  Hope the names I have missed out will forgive me for my bad memory !