Tondra - The Organic Village of Jharkhand

The organic revolution is now becoming a familiar face to the country. One such inspiring story comes from a small village from relatively less known state of India - Jharkhand. The 12 villages of Jharkhand including Kasamar and Jaridih near Bokaro are on the path of organic farming. The 1200 acres of land in these villages don't use any kind of chemical fertilizer for farming and the leader of all of them is Tondra village of Bhaski Panchayat near Bokaro.  

Going Organic

The first totally organic village of Jharkhand near Bokaro has a population of about 1200 people. Out of which nearly half of the population - 600 people are farmers. These farmers have not only initiated organic farming in their fields and successfully growing crops but also demotivated other farmers nearby to use chemical fertilizers. The impact seen was quite majestic which revolutionized the lives of people there.

Start of a Change

Noonibala Devi of Tondra  recalls " under the guidance of Agriculture Scientist M S Swaminathan, the leader of Green Revolution ,we took it on a serious note to adopt organic farming and related practices when he told us about the severe consequences and harm done to the environment due to use of chemicals". 

She elaborates " Our village panchayat Bhaski put up the slogan "No chemical ,go chemical" for the first time in the region. In village Bhaski itself, a total of 125 acres of land is cultivated under organic farming. It includes paddy ,maize , tuar daal and vegetables. Vegetables are grown on a large scale organically in the village.  

The Sarpanch of village Mantu Marandi and Ex Sarpanch Sunita Kumari are both very active. Sunita attends every meeting related to organic farming. Panchanan Mehto of Durgapur Panchayat says that we have totally adopted this beautiful practice to conserve our land and water resources realizing its power.

Consequences of Organic Farming

Organic farming have started leaving its positive results now. Due to this practice, not only the biodiversity of the village has enhanced but there is a remarkable improvement in the overall health of the villagers also. The women told that there is no one in the village who is seriously ill. 10 -15 years ago, people were suffering from cold and cough only however during covid period ,3 cases of diabetes were also detected in the village. After adoption of organic farming, their glucose levels have improved drastically. There are no cesarean deliveries is in the village .Moreover the village children also rarely become ill !

Effect on Farming

Initially the farmers have to work hard and invest more but they start getting benefits within eight months. Contrary to chemical fertilizers, whose intake has to be increased continuously year by year, the use of organic manure decreases with the increasing time span as they replenish the soil naturally. Although the production increases to 10% of its present value using chemical fertilizers but 15% product decompose or rot also . Moreover they degrade the health also. One such result was clearly seen in the village by the presence of tomatoes in the month of may when the flowers of tomatoes were shed away all over the state and tomato prices were raised. 

The villagers have firm belief that it's only a matter of attitude. If someone is dedicated to adopt organic farming ,he has to just change his mindset and the amazing results are in front of everyone through the example set by Tondra village of Jharkhand. Infact ,it is a perfect example of team spirit and community service !

 IITians to Make Face Recognition Software

The students of IIT Bhilai have got splendid success by designing face recognition software which can prove to be a landmark in the history of  smart policing. It can prove to be very beneficial to police in identifying and catching the criminals and finding their location. 

Introduction

All the students who have designed the software belong to IIT Bhilai. They include Vipin Gautam ,Vansh Raj Singh, Shubham Bhagat, Raja Singh and Pratham Sahu. All of them are the students of second semester in IIT Bhilai in computer science branch. Along with their efforts, they also took the help of police experts for making this software. After successful completion of designing of software a , successful demo was also given in front of police officials. 

The Software

The software first has to be uploaded with photo and data of the criminals and then to be connected with a camera. Even a rough sketch of the criminal downloaded in the software can identify the original person as soon as it comes in contact with the camera. The most wonderful feature of the software is that even if the person faces the camera by changing the get up, then also the camera will identify the person with the help of software and will inform to the control room immediately. As per students, this is the first ever software in the country which sends immediate message to the control room after identifying the accused. 

The Technology Behind

Student Vipin Gautam told that a person has roughly 64 such points on his or her face which are not matching with anybody's face. The software has been prepared on this basic principle only. The software recognizes the accused by scanning those 64 points in his or her face which has to be uploaded in the software. The activity and ways of movement are also the additional factors which contribute to the recognition of the accused. Even if the system is uploaded with thousands of photos ,the software can identify the particular accused amongst them.

Successful Demonstration

So far the software has an arrangement that it can provide response within the range of data stored in the software only. The students have successfully demonstrated the software in front of present Superintendent of police Divyang Patel. The demonstration was done at a large scale by uploading the photos of police corps in the software. As soon as they faced the camera, they were identified and message was sent to the control room. The software is in use by police now. 

Innovations need for creative call and a small support to get unveiled publicly. This story is a perfect example of it !

 Rajiben Vankar - The Artisan Entrepreneur

Rajiben Vankar, a renowned artisan and entrepreneur from Kutch, Gujarat is the face for all women who amidst all odds, are changing their lives and contributing to the progress of nation as well. Rajiben is a noted personality in the field of weaving as she is creating beautiful handicraft products from discarded plastic and so far upcycled 100,0000 single use plastic bags. She is not only saving the environment from hazards of plastic but also empowering women. The tagline of her brand is 'crafting a better planet.'

Childhood

Rajiben belongs to the Vankar community of Kutch which has been practicing loom weaving for centuries in the dry landscape of Bhuj in Kutch. Her home was in Kotay village along the shore of grand Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. In her childhood days ,she was keenly interested in weaving as she saw her family members weaving beautiful woolen clothes on loom. Although weaving was considered as no woman job, seeing her interest for weaving, her cousins secretly taught her weaving when her father went for farming on a small piece of ancestral land. By the age of 14, she was an expert in weaving. 

In 2020,when there was a severe drought in Kutch and her father faced great losses in agriculture ,it posed a big problem for their livelihood. It was a total surprise for her father when she told him that she knew weaving. He finally gave her permission to start weaving with acrylic wool on the loom.

Hardships in Life

She got married at the age of 18. Very soon she was a mother of two boys and one girl in quick succession however she was denied from weaving due to societal norms and traditions. In 2007 ,her husband got a cardiac arrest at the age of 30 and passed away leaving family responsibilities on her. 

She was in absolute shock. Being mentally broken and financially burdened, she was unable to brought up her three children so she shifted to Avadh Nagar where her elder sister resided. Unable to pay the rent, she put up a bamboo tent and started working as a farm labour to support her family. Rajiben was however not enjoying her work.

Turning to Weaving

Working as a farm labour for 2 years, she once heard of a local NGO Khamir which was providing platform to the heritage and crafts of Kutch region by providing employment to the artisans of the region. When Rajiben approached them they asked her to join and offered her a salary of rupees 3000 which was raised to rupees 10000 in the third year. Here came a U turn in her life! She was not only enjoying her work but meeting various people who were visiting the NGO to learn Kutch art and craft . She was praised much for her work. 

One day Rajiben got struck with an innovative idea that single use plastic bags which are discarded and simply polluting the environment can be upcycled and various items can be prepared from them through weaving. This will not only generate income but also reduce pollution.

Start of a New Journey

With this new approach, Rajiben started  collecting, cleaning and breaking down plastic bags into a form which can create new items. She trained 30 women for performing this whole process. Due to her innovative approach , she went to London to exhibit her weaving skills and showcase the products prepared from the upcycled plastic.

Initiating Her Own Enterprise

After her London trip, Rajiben realized that she can start her own enterprise. She united 30 women from nearby villages to prepare planters ,plastic bags, spectacle cases, pouches ,trays and other products on loom. She was however lagging design and marketing expertise. This gap was bridged by Kaarigar Clinic- an Ahmednagar based bussiness firm which connects urban buyers and rural artisans through technology. After training women across villages, she is also now creating products like yoga mats, laptop bags ,shopping bags and table mats also. Their annual revenue is about 10 lakhs.

From a Labour to President Award

After years of hard work, Rajiben is a successful entrepreneur leading a glorious life with two awards in her bag. She has been awarded with President award for her Social entrepreneurship in the field of weaving and saving environment and also bagged Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman as well. Her two sons have settled in corporates and her daughter has joined the loom business after graduation. Hats off to the lady with such a powerful will !

 Zero Circle

Ever heard of an algae entrepreneur ? Sounds incredible? Neha Jain, the founder of science startup 'Zero Circle' is in news for her innovative startup which aims at offering an eco friendly solution for the increasing plastic crisis by making eco friendly plastic films through sea weeds. 

The Professional Journey

Her professional journey is quite lucrative. From being a journalism student to her career in Google, she was quite innovative in nature. In year 2020 , she decided not to use plastic in the house when she was working as a tech consultant for a sustainability firm. She however realised that the changes cannot be brought on mass scale if it is implemented at the at the individual level but a noticeable change in carbon footprint can be brought about if this awareness is spread among the masses .This gave birth to the startup 'Zero Circle'.

The birth of Zero Circle

After leaving her job and saying no to plastic, Neha was in search of an eco friendly solution to the devastating plastics when she came across seaweeds. During her research ,she discovered these unique species that could change the whole scenario of plastic use in the country. This marine plants absolutely do not require any soil, freshwater or fertilizer to grow but they grow by their own. Moreover they act as cleansing agents of sea. In 2020 ,with a team of eminent environmentalists and scientists, the 'Zero Circle' came into existence. They started converting different species of seaweeds into low cost bio packaging films. They first procured sea weeds from sea shore and marine farms in Gujarat and Tamilnadu.

The Products

After processing sea weeds, they are turned into powder through proper technology and then used to make films for food preservation and packaging, handbags, tea bags and more. The most unique thing about these products are that they dissolve in the ocean without leaving any plastic, even in the micro form causing no harm to the environment. Zero circle provides packaging solutions which are 100% home compostable, marine safe ,food safe ,heat sealable and printable. They do not emit carbon dioxide or methane on degrading in the ocean.

Key Features

The Enterprise aims at finding energy efficient solutions, investing in renewable energy and reducing carbon footprint by using marine safe technology. They help the brands to go carbon neutral and find  sustainable solutions for their industries. They use locally sourced materials and use low cost green processing technology to produce carbon efficient solutions. There core belief is that seaweed based products possess the caliber to replace the traditional fossil fuel products. Moreover, the cultivation of seaweeds provides a secondary source of income to the locals also.

Awards

Zero Circle has won Tom Ford prize worth $1.2 million in the field of plastic innovation by converting seaweeds into biodegradable, sustainable packaging films. It comprises of of cash as well as direct investment which is launched by designer Tom Ford in collaboration with Lonely Whale in 2020. They are dedicated to find companies which are aiming at finding biodegradable alternatives to thin film plastics by utilizing marine waste for this purpose. They also help in scaling sourcing such enterprise.

innovations seek for patience, creativity and passion. Zero Circle is one of those examples!