Written by Kabir Arora / 27 April 2010 /

The Pakistan Sustainability Network (PSN) has just kick started the “Clean Pakistan Campaign” with the help of Waste Busters in Green town Lahore. Green town is considered to be one of the most polluted areas in the locality, thanks to the trash.

The idea is to clean it up through empowering the community as well as promoting youth entrepreneurship and leadership. In this case, locals will be employed to run the program, collect trash and sell it to Waste Busters (a recycling company). This will provide jobs and empower the community to take responsibility for their trash.

Concept: What is the Clean Pakistan Campaign all about?

Clean Pakistan will be spearheaded by Ecopreneurs after getting trained in their respective areas. An Ecopreneur will be the person who would invest in the capital cost of the project i.e. purchasing of a Suzuki Pick Up and allied collection equipment such as hand carts etc. Total investment envisaged is approximately Rs. 3,00,000 – Rs. 5,00,000 depending upon the type of vehicle and number of equipments required.

Waste Busters shall assist and guarantee for the Ecopreneur to get this amount as loan from a Micro Finance Bank.

Written by Kabir Arora / 04 January 2010 /

 Hansiba , the first rural artisan of SEWA, talks to Madhur Tankha about her life and how she has been instrumental in encouraging rural women to earn their living through traditional skills.

She is the face behind the thousands of traditional garments that have now found their way from villages to international retail stores. Hansiba, the first rural artisan of Self Employed Women’s Association, has been instrumental in encouraging rural women to earn their living through traditional skills.

A master of 16 different types of embroideries, this nonagenarian grandmother grows her own cotton, spins her own yarn and does her own embroidery in Datarana village in Gujarat. She is held in greet esteem by the new generation that looks up to her for guidance.

Written by Kabir Arora / 01 January 2009 /

Written by Trent Brown

In many ways now is not a good time to be a farmer in Punjab, or anywhere in India, for that matter. Debts are high. The price of inputs is increasing. Soil quality has diminished. The development of pesticide-resistant insects is leading farmers to use more and more toxic chemicals on their crops, thus increasing the risk of cancer for them and their families. The combination of these factors has led many farmers to commit suicide. The Natural Farming Workshop, hosted by Kheti Virsat Mission from the 25th to the 27th of December 2009, showed farmers another way. It showed them a type of farming that requires no external inputs whatsoever, that does not involve violence against humans or nature and whose yields are good.

Written by Kabir Arora / 28 September 2009 /

Integrating the planet into daily life: Aviram Rozin

“I don`t see any conflict between human development and the health of planet. By integrating planet in our thoughts, in our daily life we will realize the importance of Madre Earth”, said Aviram Rozin, Founder of Sadhana Forest, whilst telling me about this forest-in-making.

Sadhana Forest is to be found in the extreme south-east of India, in a village called Morathandi near the former French Colony Pudducherry (Pondicherry). It is not a fully-fledged forest yet, but is on the way to becoming so. Under the supreme guidance of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, this project started on the 19 December 2003, on the day of the Jewish Light festival in the Aiyanar Temple. It is a unique collaboration of eastern and western spirituality, that could be called a Mecca of Environmentalism in India.

Written by Kabir Arora / 27 January 2009 /

While Environmental Education has been made a mandatory subject by the Supreme Court in school and university curriculums, in the interior of Dharampur, at Eco-Centre, they have taken it a step further. Environmental Education lies at the heart of their educational system.

Written by Kabir Arora / 24 January 2009 /

Shirdi/ Kabir Arora

The Divine India Youth Association (a Spiritual Organization), offered support to the Indian Youth Climate Network, at a recent conference in Shirdi. Members of the organization pledged to promote eco-friendliness at all of their religious gatherings. Proposals included the use of paper-bags instead of plastic ones, investment in solar powered energy systems, the replacement of plastic cups with traditional clay cups, and the promotion of organic farming as not only an ecological solution but a spiritual pathway as well.

At their gathering at Shirdi, two IYCN members displayed many of the small changes we can all make. People showed keen interest in the IYCN campaign.

Written by Kabir Arora / 16 January 2009 /

Organic farming is the meeting point of farmer and Mother Nature:The Story of Narsimha

In the largest district of Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, lies a small village called Chinna Jalapuram. This village is on its way to become a model for rural communities across the country.

The story of this success starts four years ago from the day when the Rural Integrated Development Society (RIDS) adopted this village. The first person to opt for natural farming was the leader of the villagers, Narsimha, who is now a Environment committee member for the village. He and his son are practicing organic farming, and enjoying a good income as a result. These villagers are not even aware of the contribution of agriculture to global warming which is approximately 25 percent, but then they are also not aware that they are part of the solution for the same global crisis through the methods they are now adopting.

The story of the Narsimha is not different to any farmer in India;