Three months into SELCO story

This has now become ritual I guess; a monthly Selco story, so let me talk about another project of Selco's. This one is actually from S3IDF, Small Scale Infrastructure Development Fund, an organization under the Selco umbrella, which has mission of creating micro and small enterprises to provide infrastructure needs to the underserved, with key elements ……. pro-poor and pro-environment.

This is in the field of dry waste management in Bangalore. As context, Bangalore generates around four thousand tons of solid waste per day and while the Bangalore city corporation has dry waste collection centres to initiate source segregation and decentralized waste management, as you all know, our cities have a very large informal workforce of waste pickers who play a crucial role in managing the city’s waste. 

There is little or no recognition of this informal workforce of waste picker's contribution to the city’s waste management. I’m sure all of us at one point or the other have squirmed at the conditions that these waste pickers work in, right? Just seeing them work in the filth and grime of public trash cans..... it’s heart wrenching.

Hasirudala, meaning ‘Green Force’ is an organization that supports and represents the cause of waste pickers; seeking to improve their conditions of work and their intervention has resulted in getting 30 of the 150 odd Dry Waste Collection Centers in the city being completely managed by this informal sector. 

Hasirudala provides the needed training and management support for these centers, provides the basic hygiene in terms of gloves, shoes and coats; and has been also able to build in minimum wages, security benefits, and education for the children involved. A lot of dedication, commitment and amazing work happening here.

S3IDF has come together with Hasirudala and two other partners, Waste Wise Trust (also an NGO in the field of solid waste management) .& Rang De (a micro credit organization with vision to make poverty history in India) to provide capacity building, business development and financial inclusion assistance to these waste pickers. The project is looking at ways to ensure that as member groups they develop into entrepreneurs with access to finance and the capacity to sustainably operate the dry waste collection business by working with wholesale buyers and recyclers.

We have Eunice Leons, my newest 21 year old friend, working on this project, visiting all these centers and helping and supporting with the needed inputs. Nice work Eunice......and way to go girl! May you be an inspiration for other youngsters.

And hopefully this amazing work that’s happening can actually be replicated in other parts of the country, because god knows, it's such a huge need.