Beginning anew and starting on a positive note, a three day festival celebrating sustainability has kickstarted in Goa from today till November 8 at Garcia de Orta Garden in Panaji. A joint initiative between Sensible Earth and the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), Revival 2020 promises to be a fun, interactive way to better understand the recycling efforts underway in the city, gain awareness on adopting sustainable measures in our daily living and to meet people who provide services and products in Goa, helping create a ‘circular economy’.
Sanjiv Khandelwal, co-founder of Sensible Earth is visibly pleased by the efforts of his volunteers. He sits amidst cycles that have been refurbished and given a new life through the painstaking efforts of Ezekiel and others from the team. “These too are on display at the event so that people get a chance to understand what can be done,” says Khandelwal. He adds, “Through the CCP, we collected cycles that were trashed from 81 different societies and then upcycled. Some of these can also be sold to ‘Robin Hood’ the model and make it remunerative.” What’s more some of them come with saddlebags that have been upcycled from used and discarded jeans – an initiative by Jane D’souza of Sale Swap Takeaway (SST).
Khandelwal has a point when he says, “Getting used to the pandemic and the ‘new normal’, we seem to be going back to ‘business as usual’ almost with a vengeance. We see trees getting cut; there’s more construction, more traffic. Our journey with Sensible Earth is to question this insatiable demand for consumerism and start getting people to relook at local ecosystems and materials differently. Our aim is to promote a sustainable coexistence and focus on upcycling and recycling efforts.”
Lamp making and cycle repair workshops are part of the event schedule besides cycle trips around the city to see first hand how the state manages its waste. “Panjim is a pioneer in recycling efforts as a city. Now, we’ve taken it a few notches higher through the 16-way segregation in the city and there are live demonstrations on this at the festival, including a visit to the waste facility, for those interested. Waste management is a dynamic process. It’s a constant process of learning, educating and creating awareness. We hope to ‘walk the talk,’ adds CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues.
The initiative at its core also includes waste pickers who at the bottom of the pyramid are the most essential in the waste management chain. “We’ve got support from the Regional Development Agency to create self help groups and teach them Vermicomposting. Another initiative by our volunteer is in creating Compostville with a group of 1000 people composting in Ponda, Margao and Mapusa,” Khandelwal explains.
The best way to promote a message is also by making it fun and accessible. As Khandelwal rightly says, “While doing good work, we can still have fun,” and this is evident through the many stalls selling organic produce, recycled products, sustainable fashion and zero waste products like shampoo bars, toothbrushes and more. “Given our strong connection with stories and its emotional connect, we have four storytellers who will share their experiences in practising sustainable living. This will be an informal session at the lawn every evening,” adds Khandelwal.
Rodrigues is hopeful of this event being an agent of change. “We want people to take a peek at this initiative and hopefully imbibe some of the thinking in their way of life. It is also a forum to showcase inventions, talents and local products. Getting a suitable and well inclined partner in Sensible Earth has worked well. We realise that sustainability is not a one time effort but a life altering process which needs to be continuously perpetuated and we would like to make this event a permanent fixture.”
A sustainable and more environment conscious way of being must be the key aspiration on our minds as we tread through a post Covid world. Our way of living now will dictate our very existence in the future. Hindsight is always 20/20, but making right choices now is being visionary.
