Tales of inspiration How they dreamt it and achieved it.

The first of January should, in real terms, be another day. But it is happily not just that since we attach a special significance to it. As someone put it, we see it as a reset time when we start afresh, dream a new dream, and set new goals. The day serves as an opportunity to start on a clean slate, think anew and even seek inspiration from those who have successfully ventured into areas we haven’t and made a difference or achieved a measure of success.

As we all know, resolutions for the new year are customary, almost a habit. It is meant to be a matter of personal choice, although there are enough people offering suggestions on what you must resolve to do. But I shall desist from doing that. Instead of subjecting you, the reader, to a must-do list, I offer you few inspirational stories that might help you think of how to devote some free time to making the earth a greener and better place.

I could think of no better example to start with than the remarkable achievement of 17-year-old Diya Loka from Hyderabad. On Dec 6, she was awarded the prestigious Diana Award for 2024, which recognises young people who demonstrate exceptional social action and humanitarian work. Diya received the award, instituted in memory of Princess Diana, from the latter’s sons Prince Henry and Prince William.

Diya is a passionate environmentalist who, with her childhood friend Sahithi Radha, co-founded E-Cycl, an organisation dedicated to addressing the humungous e-waste problem. The two high school girls in their teens set up E-Cycl with many plans and ambitions. Later, with mentoring from Recykal and Crabpin, two waste management startups, they established their organisation, which has grown steadily and extended its reach beyond Hyderabad.

Diya and Sahithi felt compelled to start E-Cycl when they observed the callous manner in which e-waste containing poisonous materials like mercury and arsenic were being handled in their city. Such contaminants damage our ecosystem and affect the health of sanitation workers and children, who often collect waste for a livelihood.

Diya and Sahithi felt they had to address the problem in an organised manner. They started with zero investment but had a lot of zeal and enthusiasm. Their organisation took shape through student-led awareness sessions at schools, campuses and office spaces. They ­conducted seminars in educational institutions and reached out to students from grades 6 to 12. Some signed up as volunteers and became a part of the movement. These engagements quickly helped foster community ­engagement. They also facilitated a collection drive, and people came forward to help.

Today, E-Cycl has an impressive record. It has collected over 10,000kg of e-waste and mentored over 5,000 people and hundreds of young changemakers. Diya’s work has gained national recognition, with organisations like Meta, WSJ and SOIF Futures sponsoring E-Cycl’s efforts. Her passion for sustainability also led her to work on advocacy and digital marketing for environmental causes. Diya continues to inspire her peers, motivating them to take action and advocate for climate solutions in their communities.

Not everyone can show Diya’s dedication, and we cannot return to school and emulate her. However, we can help her by spreading awareness about e-waste collection and management in our spare time. Perhaps we can borrow her template and pass it on to schools and resident welfare associations. To learn more about her organisation, go to ecycl.org.

Some 1,500km from Hyderabad is Delhi, infamous for its crowded roads and polluted air. Come November, the smog-filled air that hovers over the national capital makes it the most polluted city in the world. But you can breathe easy once you step into Peter Singh and Neeno Kaur’s home in Sainik Farms. Their neighbours in the upscale South Delhi colony have to ­suffer the pollution, but the home that this couple have built insulates them from it and is often described as an oasis in the polluted disaster called Delhi.

Next to the front door of their home, Peter and Neeno have a sealed panel packed with wood shavings and water trickling down it. A powerful fan draws in the outside air through the panel, cools it, and circulates it through a greenhouse covering the entire verandah length before the main house. The plants growing in the greenhouse also oxygenate the air.

The plants are grown using aquaponics — a unique farming method that combines aquaculture, the practice of raising fish, with hydroponics, the method of growing plants in a soil-less environment. Water from rain harvesting is stored in a tank where fish are reared. Bacteria convert the waste produced by the fish into nutrients that the plants can absorb. In turn, the plants filter and purify the water so the fish can thrive.

The canopy of green that envelopes the house —  even the roof is covered with plants — keeps the couple comfortable and healthy. The traditional architecture adds to the house’s eco-friendly nature. According to Peter it’s not just large houses; even flats can have a ­balcony with 500 plants that can filter the air that enters the home. Three cheers to that!

Our last port of call is on the west coast in Maharashtra. It is here in Peth village, Palghar, that my friends Ravi Iyer and Meena Menon bought land and set up a small organic farm. That Ravi, a project manager at IBM, and Meena, a journalist and author, decided to opt out of the rat race and become farmers is only part of the narrative. The fact that they have integrated into the rural community and brought about change is the real story.

Ravi has so far taught organic farming to 70 adivasi farmers in the neighbouring Vikramgad district. It has worked well for them since they are earning more with less financial input. He also set up ‘Hari Bhari Tokri’, a marketing channel to sell the farmers’ produce and has commitments from building societies and schools to buy organic vegetables, fruits and grains. He also set up the Mumbai Organic Farmers and Consumers Association (MOFCA) to give a voice to the agricultural sector.

All these stories come with the subtext that to go green, you need to extend yourself. Happy New Year!

The writer is a senior journalist who writes on environmental issues