Impact Travelogues
Drive Change Learning Resource Center- An interaction with founders of the organisation.
In Conversation with Co- Founders : Ajay, Mona and Pawan.
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For sustainable living to get embedded into one’s consciousness, it has to start young. The primary agents of socialization namely the family and school play a big role in that.
I met one such school called DLRC Pune– Learning Farm in Pune that follow a very interesting pedagogy of Head, Heart and Hand.
Founded by Ajay Dalmia, Mona Dalmia and Pavan Iyengar, the school provides immersive learning experience through a sustainable ecosystem at farm campus! businesses were impacted and companies are following cost reduction practices how do we convince management to go for ESG funds when other sources are cheaper?
Harmony Inc had conversation with Shankar Venkateswaran on it to answer some of these. Here are some interesting insights that we hear from him.
'Just Transition' on the Energy Mix and Role of Sustainable Finance
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Corporate governance agenda is evolving dramatically, we saw that in COP 26 at Glasgow. Countries are setting new targets including identifying the net zero year. However, Glasgow also witnessed divide on longevity of coal in global energy mix? Will not the divided global response have bearing on NDC?
Also, given the fact that USD130 trillion assets committed to achieve climate targets, investors are focusing on green recovery for the markets, yet in India when it comes to raising ESG funds they are tad bit costlier than an NCD or retail borrowing. Given that during pandemic businesses were impacted and companies are following cost reduction practices how do we convince management to go for ESG funds when other sources are cheaper?
Harmony Inc had conversation with Shankar Venkateswaran on it to answer some of these. Here are some interesting insights that we hear from him.
SEWA Bharat - Sustainable Sourcing Textile - Candid with President
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SEWA or the Self-Employed Women Association has been working for over 50 years in India in 18 states for women in the informal economy. It started with trade union rights however soon realised that there are developmental needs of these women that need to be catered first and thus began forming cooperative and producer companies for the women coming from the Base of Pyramid (BoP)
Harmony INC brings to you a conversation with Ms Renana Jhabvala, President SEWA Bharat. Listen to more on how the SEWA movement started in Gujarat to establish SEWA Bharat and its work on making women self-reliant across India.
Here is their story and it’s relevance for the apparel/ textile industry.
Millets for Health
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Harmony Inc. opens the New Year 2022 by sharing story of another social enterprise ‘ Millets for Health’ (MFH) aimed towards promoting healthy eating habits for the commoners. Founded by Pallavi Upadhyaya and Rajeev Pandey in 2016, the organization works on a ‘Farm to Fork’ concept for Millets. It sources millets from farmers from Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
With the support of Shodh a not-profit founded by Rajeev, they build capacity for farmers to explain how millets, especially Kodo ( a traditionally grown millet ) is actually a climate resilient crop that can withstand harsh weather. Thus, bringing back the importance of crops which are not only healthy and have been part of their ancestral cuisine, but are now the ‘Hope crop for the future’.
MFH’s journey of convincing people and changing their mindset has not been an easy one. In my conversation with the couple last month, I got to know various ways they have tried to reach the masses. They have conducted workshops and melas with Resident Welfare Associations, Schools and Colleges; worked with various non profits, and have also tried to reach out to the hospitality industry and brands such as the Oberois. They have to continuously innovate to expand their reach.
SEBI is asking questions on sustainable procurement practices to corporations ( top 1000 by market cap) and I am reiterating that this is an essential indicator. The question further asks on % of social enterprises on board.
Role of India Inc in embedding social enterprise - Industree Crafts Foundation
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The global supply chain disruption due to pandemic has made us acutely aware of exploring possibilities within our own ecosystems of meeting the industry needs. Sustainable lifestyle including buying ethically and locally sourced products be it sustainable fashion, conscious organic food with minimal carbon and water footprint, or eating at farm to fork kind of a restaurant; consumers are prioritizing.
While there are increasingly social enterprises in India working on these aspects, there are very few who started it way back in Y2K, built it to scale and become suppliers (and mind you not CSR) to global firms!
It requires the:
– Capital
– Know how on consumer preference
– Technology transfer
– Quality of service/ product offering
– Discovery and marketing platform
Industree Foundation is one such social enterprise that has managed to get this right. Harmony Inc presents a 3-part series on journey of Ms Neelam Chhiber and her organization Industree Foundation.
Kilmora supported by Kumaon Grameen Udyog
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Last one month spent in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region ( state located in the foothill of the The Himalayas in India) I saw work of some of the social enterprises working on ecological restoration and livelihood generation for the local communities.
One of social enterprises working for over 20 years is Kilmora supported by Kumaon Grameen Udyog. An interaction with local women working at Kilmora in trades knitting and weaving revealed the change it has brought about in their lives after being economically empowered. They shared that:
1. There is increased financial decision making at the household level.
2. Freedom to spend on themselves which otherwise was not there
3. Peer to peer learning in trades ensures finesse in them and minimal rejections giving quality products to markets across India.
Kilmora also works towards organically made products from herbs, fruits known in the kumaon region and ensures their protection. They have some great brands associated with them such as Fab India, Jaypore amongst many. Here is their website to know more on the products: