A Solar Powered village who won 5 National Awards 

Situated amidst lush green trees and mountains, is a village named Mukhra K in Telangana which has gone massive transformation from a backward, remote village to five times national awardee. It has become a model village for nearby villages and the chief motivation behind it is Sarpanch Gadge Meenakshi - the lady with a vision. 

The Personal Story

When Meenakshi was a growing kid, she herself faced many challenges and lack of basic facilities in the village. She was able to study upto class 5 in the village and for further studies she has to go out. Most of the girls dropped their studies at that point those days. She somehow managed to study up to class 10th. To pursue her studies she has to walk for kilometres up to highway road to catch the bus for the school.

The Plight of Village

As per Meenakshi ,there was no proper drainage system in the village. Dreams overload on the Pathways making it difficult to walk. That created a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other microorganisms. People defecated in the open and doctors were not staying in the village for long. Littering was another bad habit prevailing in the village. There was nobody in the village to listen to the complaints as the Sarpanch was living far from the village. 

From Plight to transformation

The village remained in this pathetic condition till 2019 when Meenakshi was elected as Sarpanch of the village. The first priority under took by Meenakshi was to stop open defecation completely by building toilets in each household of village so that women should not get embarrassed as they have to go for defecation in the open fields daily. Gram Panchayat finally built toilets in all 210 households in the village under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Apart from it, she constructed soakpits in every house to prevent leakage of water on roads. 

The second important decision taken by her was collecting the waste from village and preparing vermicompost from it. Interestingly, now the village is earning lacks of rupees revenue by selling this vermi compost fertilizer. Gram Panchayat distributed two separate dustbins to every household for collecting dry and wet waste. 

From Solar Power to free Bus Service

The village has also installed two solar powered grids on the rooftop producing 6 kilowatts of electricity. This has made the village self sufficient in energy. Panchayat has installed solar lights in Anganwadi, schools, roadside and Gram Panchayat Bhavan so that the power bill has reduced to zero up till now.

A digital library has also been started by Meenakshi for the school going students so that nobody should get deprived from education due to lack of basic facilities. She has also installed 1000 connections of tap water under Central government's Har Ghar Jal mission scheme. 

She has been the mentor behind planting about one lakh fruit bearing trees along road side. She also encouraged people to use eco friendly cutlery in the weddings. Apart from it, she provided free bus service for pick up and drop for village students to the city so that they should not leave their studies in between. What a spirit!

Achievements

In this process of transformation ,she has used 36 crores of fund from Central and State government to implement various schemes and programs. The village has been awarded several times on national level with awards like Swacchh Sujal Shakti Samman, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Puruskaar, Swacchh Sarvekshan Award and National Gram Urja Swaraj Award. Meenakshi Gadge is a perfect example of will power and spirit to serve the community which has transformed a village in plight to a role model.The society owe to them deep from their heart!

 From a Failure to a Bamboo Entrepreneur

The world is now shifting it's focus towards renewable products and resources more and more as the energy demands are rising and resources are getting depleted. Satyam was once called a "failure" and "Junglee" but now this Bihar based entrepreneur  - Satyam Sundaram is a bamboo entrepreneur earning 25 lakhs per year from his company . After identifying the potential of bamboo as a strong alternative to plastic, this bamboo based business transformed satyam's life altogether. 

Childhood Days and Studies

Satyam belongs to a small village called Lakhanpur of Munger district of Bihar. He completed his pre primary education from a government school where he was carrying his books in a jute sack or Bora. His father was in Bihar police. By the time he was seven, his father get transferred to Purnia and the family also got shifted along with him. When he got enrolled in class 1,he failed in few subjects. As his base was not clear ,he continued to fail in class 2 in maths and English also. He was called a failure. Further his parents admitted him in a convent school but he was thrown out from school stating him as Junglee as he came from village and was not having manners. When her mother tried to be re admit him, she was also insulted. He somehow cleared his board exams from a local School. Satyam shifted to Kolkata for higher studies and completed his BCA degree successfully. Like other individuals from Bihar, he was forced to take up government job for which he appeared in state PCS exam but failed to pass.

Enrolling for MBA - a new start

In 2020, Satyam enroll himself for an MBA course where he felt for the first time that he took the right decision. In his classes of Business Administration,he started raising doubts and was interested in course deeply because the subject resonated with his interests. The MBA course helped Satyam built up good marketing skills, presentation skills and communication skills. During his internship, he worked with companies like ITC and Britannia. He was one of the few good students who got the chance to work with them. He got a free placement offer from ITC and Burger paints also however he decided to start from scratch instead of taking the job. It was actually turning point in his life.

Turning to Bamboo Industry

Instead of accepting the job offer, Satyam wanted to use his business skills by starting his own business. " during my college days, I got introduced with the bamboo industry in the North East. I started researching on bamboo products which one can make by their own. Although I was getting job but I wanted to be the first person to establish bamboo manufacturing unit in Bihar. "Says Satyam. 

During covid period, there was an increasing demand for bamboo products which insisted him to start this business. He started his business by taking 15000 rs from his younger brother and set up a table in the busy market by putting bamboo bottles on it. He was trying to understand the willingness of people to buy the bamboo products. He also wished to promote this eco friendly products and create awareness for them among people. He stood in busy market Street showing posters avoiding plastic use and adopt eco friendly practices. 

In 2022, he got a financial aid of 8 lakh rupees under the scheme PMEGP( Prime Minister Employment generation program) . In mid May, after 1 month of semester examination he launched his company along with his mother.

Company and the Product

Within a time period of one year,he made his customer base across india in states like Maharashtra ,Delhi, Gujarat ,Kerala and Telangana. Presently he is selling about 150 bamboo items including a variety of products like pen holders ,tongue cleaners, tooth brushes, necklaces, lamp Shades, Dandiya sticks, intricately carved art pieces and temperature display flasks. Priced between Rs40 to 40,000. So far, he has sold 25000 units of these products pan India. His company's annual revenue is Rs 25 lakh at present.

Looking Back

Satyam recalls back his old days that how he was scolded and threw out of the school. The same school is now calling him as a guest speaker however he prefer addressing children of government schools as they relate with him and his story. Sharing his story with them not only instills a great sense of satisfaction in him but also fills those students with enthusiasm and inspiration. We salute this spirit!

 From ISRO Scientist to an Organic Date Farmer - a unique story

An ex ISRO scientist and a pioneer in the field of organic date farming ,the story of Diwakar Channappa is a tale of sheer determination and love towards farming and nature. In an effort to grow something unique, he became the first farmer to grow organic dates in Karnataka. 

Towards the Roots

Belonging to an agricultural family, Diwakar comes from a small village Begur in rural Karnataka. Their village lost it's existence due to unprecedented expansion of Bengaluru city. They were forced to take farming land 100 km away from Bengaluru which was no way profitable to them. His father was a farmer growing Ragi, corn and Toor daal but somehow never found farming profitable hence he always wanted Diwakar to move away from roots and excel in life through education.Respecting her father's wish, Diwakar bagged a Masters degree in social work and also worked as a visiting faculty at Tumkur University. He also worked with ISRO as a Project scientist in a social project till he set on to a new life journey in 2009.

Embarking to a new Journey

In 2009, his father suffered a stroke which paralyzed him significantly. Diwakar decided to return to his roads and he came back to his village. When he spent first year with his father, he realised that he was not at all willing to live a city life. However the major catalyst for shifting towards agriculture was the book 'One straw Revolution' written by a Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. After reading the book for few days,he got the courage to visit his father's farm which he was never allowed to visit. He then decided to move towards farming.

Cultivating a Desert Crop

Initially Diwakar cultivated local crops like to Toor daal, Corns and Ragi. The output was however very poor. At this moment his mother reminded him that why his father didn't liked that he should not opt for farming. Even his In laws were also very upset as they married their daughter to an ISRO scientist and now he opted for agriculture. It was a very tough face for Diwakar. 

He finally decided to take up date cultivation which was actually a crop grown in arid and hot desert region of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt. Before taking up this new venture, he met a Date farmer at one Krishi Mela which was organised in Bangalore. The farmer was from Tamilnadu and was distributing pamphlet on how to cultivate dates in India. Diwakar traced the farmer and went to Tamilnadu to learn all about date farming. Diwakar says" it is a myth that dates can grow only in deserts. All they need is ample sunlight and a lot of moisture. " Diwakar then purchased 150 saplings costing rupees 3000 each with an investment of 4.5 lakhs. He was mocked and people laughed at him however he continued with his decision. He dug 2x2 pits  in the farm and put river sand in it. He then nourished each pit with castor cake, vermicompost, neem and panchgavya and planted saplings in it.

Yielding of Dates

It was in 2013, nearly 4 and half years after planting dates saplings that he saw the first flowering. It was an in memorable moment in his life. In first year, he extracted 800 kg of dates which multiplied to 5 tonnes till now. He is able to generate an income of 6 lakhs per acre from his 2.5 acre farm. As per Diwakar, farming comes up with its own challenges. It was not at all an easy task to take up farming from by switching the job of ISRO scientist however for him a slow and peaceful life was more valuable than any other assets.

Other Initiatives

Diwakar also organize harvest festival two times annually which attracts numerous visitors and sets up a unique connection between farmers and consumers. Apart from dates, Diwakar is also cultivating traditional crops like Ragi, Sugarcane ,Millets and many varieties of paddy hence presenting a sustainable model of farming. He has also collaborated with Udhbhavaha, a  special school in Bengaluru providing alternative education in which he invites students to his farm hence nurturing them with the unique experience of farming and connecting them with the roots.

People like Diwakar are unique examples of those persons who listen to their life's calling and  follow their passion by keeping mental peace over luxuries and greed!

 The Architect Duo from Bengaluru - Houses designed by them are Saving Lakhs of Litre of Water

If I say that I am going to construct a house in which there will be zero water bill , almost negligible electricity bill and the cost of house maintenance is also minimum, what will be your response? Ecocological architecture answers this question very effectively. Meet the Architect duo Chitra Vishwanath and Vishwanath S whose green buildings are setting standards in the field of green architecture and they are a popular name in this field.

Introducing the Amazing Personalities

Chitra Vishwanath has completed her diploma in Civil engineering from Nigeria and degree of Bachelor of Architecture from CPET University, Ahmedabad. She started practicing architecture in 1990. She got married to S Vishwanath, a civil engineer by profession specialized in water harvesting structures and water management and is also the founder of their architectural firm BIOME Solutions along with her wife Chitra. Chitra is currently the Principal Architect and Managing Director of BIOME Environment  Solutions.

Starting BIOME Environment Solutions

After starting her practice in 1990, Chitra noticed that about 50% of the world total energy consumption comes from field of construction and it is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases. As per Chitra once Gandhiji told Lorry Baker that all the materials needed for construction of house should be obtained from a 5 km radius from the existing site." but why from 5 km radius why not just below your feet? You can collect the soil just below your feet to make your house. " with this belief , she laid the foundation of BIOME Environment Solutions in 1991 - a multi disciplinary firm providing a complete solution to ecological issues established with a mission to built eco friendly and sustainable structures with minimum energy demands.

Challenges Faced

Chitra is one of the pioneers in the field of eco architecture but this incredible journey was challenging indeed. When she started her journey, her peers considered this thought as unworthy and awful. " It was rather disrespectful. " She smiles. Her first project was their own house built in 1995. With a spark in her eyes, she says " My house is a laboratory for me. Before we teach the world , we designed our own home in an eco friendly manner. It is closest to our heart."

The Sweet Home

They built their sweet home in 1500 square feet plot about 33 year ago from locally available resources. The walls are made up of locally available mud and mortar crushed bricks providing insulation and strength to the house. The house outlines low bamboo gate and recharge well at the front door for water harvesting. Most fascinating feature of the house is that it is naturally ventilated and it has no fan and well planted with trees all around. Most of the wood used in house is recycled. The house uses each and every drop of water in a city like Bengaluru where water comes from Kaveri ,100 km away from the city. Grey water from Green toilet is used for growing rice and irrigating other plants at the rooftop. Segregation of biodegradable and degradable waste is done for composting and this manure is used to feed kitchen garden. 70% of energy needs are fulfilled by solar panels and rest by a biomas heater installed at rooftop in cloudy days.

Unique Initiatives

So far, the architect duo have designed more than 800 ecofriendly houses so far which are saving more than 1 lakh litre of water. They have also dug 2 lakh recharge wells in association with a local community called "Mannu Vaddar "involved in the digging of traditional wells near Bengaluru. When people started digging borewells, they became jobless. Biome started a mission called "Million Wells for Bengaluru" in 2015 and dug wells with the help of  this community. They are aiming at digging 10 lakh recharge wells in Bengaluru. 

The architect duo is setting standards in the field of Green Architecture by their initiatives and leaving a legacy behind for future generations.Hats off to them!

 Iha Dixit - A Green Warrior and environmentalist at the age of 10

An environmentalist ,a green warrior and an awardee of international Young eco Hero award - Iha Dixit, is a name which is echoing amongst all environment and nature lovers throughout the country at just the age of 10 years.

Introduction

Iha Dixit ,a nine year old is studying in St Francis World school in Meerut  in class 1. Her mother Anjali Choudhary is also a teacher in one of the private school in Meerut where as her father Kuldeep Sharma is running a coaching institute. She has been a brilliant girl in academics as well as fond of planting trees.

Starting a Plantation Drive

Reminding the old days, her father Kuldeep Sharma says that her daughter was always fond of doing something different. When she was 4 years old, she watched a TV cartoon showing the importance of planting trees. Iha started insisting her parents to plant a tree. Finally she planted a lemon sapling with the help of gardner in her home garden. When it sprouted later on, she was filled with immense joy.

One day she heard honourable Prime minister Narendra Modi in one episode of Mann ki baat insisting on planting trees to save environment and to reduce pollution. She now started planting trees every Sunday. As it was a noble deed, her parents has to agree for that.

Opening of Green Smile Club

Initially Iha planted trees alone by digging the holes by herself. When sometimes these plants were damaged by animals or due to weather, Iha was much discouraged but soon started planting saplings again with new zeal. As Iha planted more and more trees, her parents kept on sharing this information on Facebook and other social media platforms. In 2018, she established Green Iha Smile club and several other children joined her in this venture. Seeing her passion, her father organised a bigger event in Meerut at a site provided by Housing and Development board where 1008 saplings were planted. That was a turning point and she was noticed in local media and later on by Prime Minister's office and throughout the country.

Other Initiatives

Due to great passion of small Iha, Child volunteers are now associated with Green Smile Foundation which are preparing mini forests, parks and green belts in their surroundings collectively. She has also prepared a Plant Bank by collecting plants which are being donated to her by others. She is also developing her own seeds and distributing it to the aspirants of plantation in future. She wants to become an IPS officer. She plants 5 saplings every Sunday on regular basis.

Awards

Iha Dixit has got first place in the competition organised by Action for Nature, a California based NGO which recognises Eco Heroes every year from all over the world. She has been awarded with International Young Eco Hero Award in August 2023. Iha has also been awarded Pradhanmantri Rashtriya Bal puraskar in 2019.

The story of Iha is a live example of passion and enthusiasm for a noble cause. It also reflects that doing something different and unique for the sake of humanity has no relation with the age. Passion can be nurtured in any age provided that suitable environment is provided !

 Deep Narayan Nayak - Raastar Master, a Unique Educator

A mentor, a social worker but above all a revered educator for under privileged children - Deep Narayan Nayak is a respectable name in Bardhman district of West Bengal. He has put forward a 3G learning model in education also known as Raastar Master (Teacher of the street) which has got iconic success in the field of primary education. 

Deep Narayan Nayak - Another name of excellence in education

36 years old Deep Narayan Nayak is a primary school teacher at Tilak Majhi Adivasi free School at Jaba village of Jamudia in Bardhman district of West Bengal. Deep Narayan himself comes from a humble background where he faced several adversities in getting formal education where he lacked a proper uniform, books and copies. Even when he got old books to read and study, he used them joyously and got educated due to his dedication for education. As he himself has gone through tough phase in his life, he decided to pave the path of education for the less fortunate and under privileged ones.

Raastar Master- A Novel Journey

Deep Narayan recalls that he started his journey in 2010 when he saw several Adivasi,Muslim and backward tribal community children leaving the school and education. There were many reasons behind it which included financial problems,poverty, lack of awareness and losing their parents. With an impersonal motive, he started operation blackboard inclusive model in 2014. He painted the outer mud walls of houses along the streets in the villages and converted them into blackboards. Due to this novel idea and efforts to educate these poor children ,he popularly came to be known as Raastar Master.

Raastar Master- A Wholesome Learning Model

During 2020, when Covid 19 broke down, it became a golden opportunity for Deep Narayan to implement this model even more intensively. He started teaching maths and Science on village streets and very soon it became popular. However Deep Narayan has a greater intention then merely teaching children. He aimed at creating a 24 hours learning cycle along with teaching their guardians by these children only. First of all the children, those who have not got any formal education earlier are provided basic education through this street model. These children then educate their parents and grandparents at home so that three generations are simultaneously getting education by this model. Deep Narayan deeply believe that this model can educate a village in less than 5 years which may otherwise take 50 years to do so.

Inculcating Scientific Attitude

With technology opening new horizons everyday, it becomes essential to get updated with it. With this belief, Deep Narayan tries his best to use technology in his lectures by using laptop, phones, projectors and even microscope daily in his classroom. The most important part of this learning model is that he records his lectures with children daily and shows these recorded lectures to their parents through a projector which gives them a great sense of satisfaction. He is also aiming at reducing school drop out rate and promoting adult literacy rate.

A True Altruist

Deep Narayan is more than a teacher ,rather he is a leader and serving the community by going beyond his role. During Covid 19 ,he took the responsibility of vaccination of elderly and pregnant women in the village.He often promotes girl education more than that of the boys to reduce gender inequality in rural areas in his classes. He also designed a mobile library on cycle containing books on various subjects like science ,Ayurved ,fiction and many more to promote reading among children.

Following the Heart's Calling

At present there are about 50 centres in West Bengal and 5 centres in Jharkhand which are running under the model of this teaching. In these centres, children of age 4 to 18 years are getting educated in five languages namely Hindi,  English ,Bangla ,Urdu and Olichiki with 50 teachers and 100 assistant teachers working with him. 

Deepnarayan got awarded with Global teacher award by AkS in 2022, best teacher award by Institute Of Scholars in 2020 and his school got Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar award in 2021 by Ministry of Education, Government of India. Clicked by photographer Saurav Das, one picture of his project Rastaar master got UNICEF photo of the Year 2021 and first position in prestigious Global peace photo award. An innovator, a true leader ,a community worker and an extraordinary educator ,Deep Narayan Nayak is a name which will be sung across generations for his unique work!

 Ashok Chakradhari - an Artisan from Chhattisgarh, the creator of Magic Lamp

Just forget Aladdin's magical lamp ! Ashok Chakradhari ,a Potter from Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh has made a magical lamp which can light up continuously up to 24 hours. Ashok has paved a new path for all the porters and artisans by designing this creative lamp and increased the prestige of clay art. 

A Childhood filled with Struggle

Ashok lives in kumharpara area of kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh. He belongs to a potter family and his father was also involved in making clay materials and equipments. He was hardly able to study up to class 4th and eventually he got involved in clay art with his father which was his ancestral work also. He was visiting villages and was installing clay tiles at the roofs of houses. This became his ultimate profession. Since then Ashok has been practicing pottery for about 40 years. One decade ago, Ashok's parents passed away and he has to took the responsibility of the whole family.

The Problems Faced

" After the arrival of equipments made up of Steel, plastic and plaster of Paris ,people have become least interested in purchasing clay items. " says Ashok."Even if the people buy these items, they don't pay full money for these items. Apart from this, the business of clay items is also affected by whether changes ,less durability and water scarcity. Many of my fellow potters have left this work and advised me also to do so however I was continuously searching possibilities in that work." he continues. 35 years before, in an exhibition organised in Bhopal ,I met an artisan from Sarguja who had done many innovative experiments with clay. Seeing this I was also searching for limitless opportunities in clay modelling from there only. " says Ashok. Ashok started working over the concept of Magical lamp and after 1 year of continuous labour he was able to design the magical lamp. Formerly Ashok has seen the idea of a similar lamp in YouTube. After failing 3 times, he finally designed the lamp in his 4th attempt. 

What is this Magic lamp? 

This magical lamp is divided into two parts. The lower part has been given a circular base in which the wick is placed. The upper circular part is looking like a tea cattle in which oil is filled. To pour oil from it ,it is connected to the lower part through a clay pipe. The upper chamber is filled with oil and is covered upside down over the lower part by fitting it in a mould. The lamp is designed in such a way that the stream of oil starts automatically towards the lower chamber when oil is less in it. This magical lamp become a boon for Ashok. As he uploaded the photo and video of the lamp on Facebook, he became a celebrity overnight and started getting orders for lamp from all over the country. With increasing demand he has increased their production by hiring 10 more fellow potters including the widows.

From Innovation to Recognition 

Ashok has made this lamp available at E-Commerce platforms also like Amazon. The core purpose of Ashok in designing this lamp is not only to earn money but also to rejuvenate this old age art form and tradition. Ashok is a master trainer at Jheetko Meetki Art Centre, Kondagaon where he is training other artisans also. He has also been felicitated with a merit certificate for his unique work by Ministry of handloom. Apart from this Magic Lamp, he make a lot of other clay products which have a good demand in the market. An NGO and Forest Department have provided him with a mechanised kiln and necessary equipments to ease his business. 

One day, Ashok wishes to upload his Art on YouTube also. He is really a noble potter with shear love for soil and the associated art. " we have originated from earth and one day we will perish into it. " what a spirit, salute to him and his spirit!

For business enquiry, you can contact Ashok on 91-9165185483