Overview

Everyday 30,000 women in Ahmedabad go out early morning, travel 8-10kms, bend atleast 1000times to collect 20kgs of dry waste. By virtue of their work, 600,000kgs of waste reach recycling unit every single day which otherwise would have ended up in landfill, decaying for centuries adversely affecting our environment. But sadly, these women work in an informal setup getting exploited at every front of their life. Paryavaran Mitra is a social enterprise aimed at bringing holistic improvements in the life of these women using Solid Waste Management as a tool. At Paryavaran Mitra, these women are involved at each stage of waste management i.e., awareness, collection, segregation and processing. So, now they are going formally in their respective assigned areas and collect segregated waste from HHs. After collection, they come back to the waste management centers & sort the materials to finer level before finally baling or grinding or composting them. Therefore, these women are the one running the whole show. Alongside, series of social activities are done to ensure their holistic development. Health camps & insurances, local & outstation picnics, financial services, education of their kids etc. are being planned as a part of inclusiveness of this model. In course of last 5years, we have served 300+ women, facilitated recycling of 1.5+million kgs of waste, generated employment for 50+ team members, spread awareness around waste management with more than 100,000 individuals and institutions etc. United Nations Development Program had been our partner supporting us in bringing this envisioned change. So, idea is to eventually have a co-operative which is by the women, of the women and for the women.