Conserve (NGO)

Last updated

Conserve is a non-governmental organization (NGO) launched in India in 1998 by husband and wife Shalabh and Anita Ahuja. [1]

Inception

In 1998, when the Delhi government launched the Bhagidari campaign, asking its citizens to participate in civic initiatives, the conservationist, Anita Ahuja and her IIT-alumna husband Shalabh rose to the challenge and launched Conserve. With a seed grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the duo began advocating waste management through seminars and workshops. [1]

Conserve started in the living room of some of Anita Ahuja's friends who were taking up issues like sewage and garbage. In synergy with the local Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), the Ahujas would also collect the waste of several colonies in a park and then segregate it. Wet kitchen waste would be converted into compost while dry refuse like polythene bags would be put aside. [1] That project did not quite work but led her to the idea of doing something about plastic bags. [2]

Over the next two years Ahuja experimented with recycling the bags. She tried weaving them together to create a tarpaulin-like covering for the shacks of slum dwellers. Another time she tried pasting pieces of the polyethylene onto canvas and cardboard. She saw that a thicker fabric could be used to make bric-a-brac like pen holders and file folders, and realized she'd finally found a successful recipe when her homemade products were popular at a fair at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi. She decided to venture into accessories. [2]

Ahuja’s project has created employment for scores of underprivileged people and also become a solution for solving the problem of plastic waste. The range has now been extended to creating footwear, cushions, jewellery, lamps, boxes and books. [3]

Recognition

In August 2018 Power Brands awarded Anita Ahuja the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar for her efforts to protect our planet and all forms of life in it through her innovation – "handmade recycled plastic" – which will not only stall our hurtling march towards an "environmental holocaust", but also make plastics a high end fashion material. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shabana Azmi</span> Indian actress (born 1950)

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to five Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero waste</span> Philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused

Zero waste, or waste minimization, is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are repurposed and/or reused. The goal of the movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment. Currently 9% of global plastic is recycled. In a zero waste system, all materials are reused until the optimum level of consumption is reached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic shopping bag</span> Type of shopping bag

Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home. However, it is rare for bags to be worn out after single use and in the past some retailers incentivised customers to reuse 'single use' bags by offering loyalty points to those doing so. Even after they are no longer used for shopping, reuse for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags are increasingly recyclable or compostable. In recent decades, numerous countries have introduced legislation restricting the provision of plastic bags, in a bid to reduce littering and plastic pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic bag</span> Type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile

A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandita Das</span> Indian actress and director

Nandita Das is an Indian actress and film maker. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Azhagi (2002),Kamli (2006), and Before The Rains (2007). Her directorial debut Firaaq (2008), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and travelled to more than 50 festivals, winning more than 20 awards. Her second film as a director was Manto (2018). Based on the life of 20th Century Indo-Pakistani short story writer Sadat Hasan Manto, the film was screened at Cannes Film Festival in the "Un Certain Regard" section. In September 2019, Das produced a two-minute Public Service Announcement music video India's Got Colour. The music video is about the issue of colourism and urges the audience to celebrate India's diversity of skin colour. Her first book, 'Manto & I', chronicles her 6-year long journey of making the film. She wrote, directed, produced and acted in a short film called, Listen to Her, that sheds light on the increase in domestic violence and overburden of work that women have been facing during the lockdown. Also sought petition seeking the commutation of the death sentence handed out to Ajmal Kasab.

Events in the year 2008 in the Republic of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manjusha Kulkarni-Patil</span> Musical artist

Manjusha Kulkarni-Patil is a Hindustani classical music vocalist. She belongs to the Gwalior gharana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic pollution</span> Accumulation of plastic in natural ecosystems

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs.

Flavia Agnes is an Indian women's rights lawyer with expertise in marital, divorce, and property law. She has published articles in the journals Subaltern Studies, Economic and Political Weekly, and Manushi. She writes on themes of minorities and law, gender and law, law in the context of women's movements, and on issues of domestic violence, feminist jurisprudence, and minority rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nari Shakti Puraskar</span> Highest civilian honour for women in India

The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian honour for women in India, and is presented by the president of India on International Women's Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The award was instituted in 1999 under the title of Stree Shakti Puraskar, renamed and reorganised in 2015. It is awarded in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a cash prize of 200,000 and 100,000 rupees, respectively.

Uma Tuli is an Indian social worker, educationist and the founder of Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, working for the rehabilitation of physically disabled people. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 California Proposition 67</span> 2016 California ballot proposition

Proposition 67 was a California ballot proposition on the November 8, 2016 ballot. A "Yes" vote was to approve, and a "No" vote to reject, a statute that prohibits grocery and other stores from providing customers single–use plastic or paper carryout bags but permits the sale of recycled paper bags and reusable bags for a fee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packaging waste</span> Post-use container and packing refuse

Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part of the packaging waste consists of single-use plastic food packaging, a hallmark of throwaway culture. Notable examples for which the need for regulation was recognized early, are "containers of liquids for human consumption", i.e. plastic bottles and the like. In Europe, the Germans top the list of packaging waste producers with more than 220 kilos of packaging per capita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Green Garmento</span> Reusable packaging product

The Green Garmento is a reusable packaging product introduced by Jennie Nigrosh as an alternative to single-use dry cleaning plastic bags. It is a multipurpose, reusable garment bag which also serves as a hanging hamper, duffel bag, and dry cleaning/pick-up bag. The Green Garmento also offers additional sustainable products for laundry, storage, travel, and organization.

Isatou Ceesay is a Gambian activist and social entrepreneur, popularly referred to as the Queen of Recycling. She initiated a recycling movement called One Plastic Bag in the Gambia. Through this movement, she educated women in The Gambia to recycle plastic waste into sellable products that earned them income.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twinkle Kalia</span> Indian woman (born 1982)

Twinkle Kalia is an Indian woman who lives in Delhi. She funds and drives ambulances. She was given the highest award for women, the Nari Shakti Puraskar, in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhea Mazumdar Singhal</span> Indian entrepreneur

Rhea Mazumdar Singhal is an Indian entrepreneur creating biodegradable disposable products. Her awards include the Nari Shakti Puraskar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basanti Devi (environmentalist)</span>

Basanti Devi is an Indian environmentalist. She has been concerned with preserving trees in Uttarakhand. She was awarded the highest award for women in India, the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumita Ghosh</span> Indian entrepreneur

Sumita Ghose, is an Indian entrepreneur who started the Rangsutra collective and won the Nari Shakti Puraskar award from the president of India. Hundreds of artisan's co-own Rangsutra and through the company they sell their goods bridging the gap to global customers such as Ikea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Gupta</span> Indian social entrepreneur and activist

Anita Gupta is an Indian social entrepreneur, organic farmer and tribal activist. She has arranged training for more than 50,000 rural women.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lal, Neeta (2008-02-15). "Cash from trash". Khaleej Times Online. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  2. 1 2 Bahree, Megha (2007-11-26). "Bag Lady". Forbes. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  3. "Even waste can be turned into beauty, says designer". Gulf Times. 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  4. "Daily India media recognizes 13 Indian stalwarts with Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar 2018 | Central Chronicle - Central India's Premier English Daily". Archived from the original on 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2019-05-09.