This Student-Led Team Is Working On Various Causes, Focusing On SDGs For Inclusive Growth Of India

Enactus Aryabhatta – a student-led team of young entrepreneurs aims to tackle a myriad of social issues plaguing the society by taking imperative steps to bridge the chasm between the rich and the poor with education, employment opportunities, ensuring judicious use of resources, significantly reducing wastage, promoting recycling and working towards building a community that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. It came into existence in 2017.

The Logical Indian team had a conversation with Vamani Gupta, Project Head of 'Project Palaash', and we talked to her about her organization: Enactus Aryabhatt and their upcoming project, 'Project Palaash'. When we spoke to the project lead, this is what she had to say," We at Enactus have the vision to make this world a better place, one sustainable step at a time. The Enactus network of global business, academic and student leaders are unified by this vision. With a total of more than 72,000 members across 1730 campuses, Enactus, as a value-driven organization, impacts around 1.3 million lives each year."

Project Palaash was set up in 2019 to tackle the grave issue of poor floral waste administration by gathering unutilized blossoms from temples, flower mandis and weddings across Delhi NCR to produce 100% vegan dyes and a range of other organic products like compost, candles and colours.

"We promote sustainable fashion through the use of 100% handmade cotton fabric and dyeing them to offer a range of apparel, including naturally dyed dupattas, t-shirts, and kurtas listed on our website along with other e-commerce platforms like Going Zero and EcoPhase. Additionally, the Project provides natural dyeing services to various businesses and fabric manufacturers, elevating the art of natural dyeing to great horizons," the project head added.

All the organic products under Palaash are manufactured by our beneficiaries, survivors of human trafficking. With an aim to turn our beneficiaries into entrepreneurs, we upskill them in techniques like tie and dye, ombre dyeing, clamping and block printing in fabrics.

Palaash covers the following SDGs, which makes it a unique Project amongst others.

SDG 14: Life below water

They aim to safeguard the life below the water by efficiently managing and utilizing floral waste and producing numerous organic products out of it like natural dyes, compost, natural scent, colours, and candles. If the floral waste is not managed properly, then it can release harmful toxins into the river bodies, harming marine life.

SDG 1: No poverty

Project Palaash works towards the social protection of its beneficiaries by assuring them of enhanced access to essential services and building resilience. The aim is inclusive economic growth, especially for the poorest and vulnerable.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Project Palaash protects labour rights and promotes safe and secure working environments for all workers. We have collaborated with STOP India Global Movement, an NGO working against trafficking and oppression of children and women and several other NGOs and communities to enable them.

SDG 10: Reduce inequalities

Project Palaash aims to reduce inequalities by employing underprivileged women and victims of human trafficking in order to help rehabilitate them.

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Project Palaash promotes responsible consumption and production by doing more with less, significantly contributing to poverty alleviation and the transition to low-carbon and green economies. It even promotes resource efficiency and sustainable lifestyles. It aids in reducing the negative effects of synthetic dyes and replacing them with organic dyes.

SDG 13: Climate action

Project Palaash aims to tackle climate change by averting pollutants from water bodies and preventing water intoxication. We have salvaged over 10000 kg of floral waste through composting & cleared 5000kg of solid waste from river dumping sites which over time releases harmful toxins into the environment. Our products are sustainably curated following a zero-waste model, thereby reducing a significant amount of carbon emissions.

SDG 15: Life on Land

Project Palaash aims to safeguard life on land by introducing an environment-friendly alternative to synthetic textiles and creating organic composts made from degraded flowers. The Project has organized collection and cleanup drives across river banks post which has facilitated the proper disposal of that waste. Thereby initiating proper disposal of floral waste, industrial by-products, household waste etc.

Other Issues Dealt: Water Quality, Solid Waste Management

Project Palaash tackles the water pollution problem caused by poor floral waste management, a highly neglected problem in our country. Eight million tonnes of floral waste is generated every day, accounting for 1/3rd of the total solid waste in India.

The pesticides and chemicals on these flowers contaminate the water quality as the noxious substances leach into water bodies. The decaying waste releases greenhouse gases, leading to lower oxygen levels, thus hampering marine life.

Moreover, 40 million litres of wastewater is dumped in the river systems daily, and only a fraction of it is fairly treated.

Another compelling factor contributing to the hazard on the quality of water is the impurity caused by various dyeing and textile industries. The synthetic dyeing and textile industry is the third-largest consumer of water in the world, expending nearly 2.4 trillion gallons of water a year and effusing over 70 toxic chemicals into the hydrosphere.

"India has a unique handloom weaving heritage that is the second largest in the world. Yet the industry has a bleak future due to a lack of market reach, support from locals as well as the government, the rising cost of production and growth of the power loom sector. Hence, we felt the need to collaborate with these artists, provide them with a market and help revive the art form by instilling a sense of belonging and responsive consumption in the consumers," the project head shared in a conversation with The Logical Indian.

Accolades Received For Project 'Palaash'

Recently, the project has joined hands with the Delhi Government to establish Self-Help groups in Najafgarh and provide sustainable employment opportunities to them. Their efforts were also appreciated globally by The Very Group: the second-largest retail chain in the UK. Palaash became a finalist in the Resilient Ecosystems Challenge in 2021 and won the Community Award after competing with 1800 teams from 128 countries.

It has also emerged as one of the Top 20 Finalists in 2022 in the Youth Innovation Challenge conducted by MIT Solve amongst more than 800 teams from 148 countries. Upholding the significance of ethical business practices, Project Palaash won the KPMG business ethics grant 2022 and received project scaling funding of ₹ 25000. Palaash even won the Race for Better India, under SDG 5: Clean Water and Sanitation and received 25000 INR as funding for the project.

Palaash was also recognized as a novel solution to combat ocean pollution in the 1 Race 4 Oceans amongst the Enactus teams across the globe.

"With the aim to make Palaash a leading sustainable fashion brand offering natural dyeing services to textile manufacturers. We plan to upscale our project and effectively manage 60% of the floral waste produced in Delhi NCR by the end of 2023. We will work towards standardizing our operations while venturing into large-scale production and enjoy the benefits of economies of scale. This will further embellish our efforts to curb water pollution and multiply our ability to generate employment," Vamani Gupta concluded while talking about the project.

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