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by Pallavi Pasricha (Lonely Planet Author) Jun 2018

I reach here and I am stumped. Not only is this village spotless clean but it's one of the prettiest ones I have seen in the country. I am greeted warmly and taken to the guest house, my home for the night. I walk on cobbled streets bordered with thatched Khasi huts and go past gardens that are full of colourful flowers. There are bamboo baskets outside every house, used as bins.

I reach the guest house which is entirely made of bamboo. Raised on stilts it almost seems as if I'm in a tree house with two tiny bedrooms, a living room, verandah and a machan which is connected to the verandah with long bamboo poles and jute. It resembles a typical Khasi hut and it is serene and calming just sitting there amidst greenery with a gentle gurgling of the waterfall in the background. I had my lunch and just wanted to laze there with no agenda, no mobile or internet (thank God). I'm enjoying every minute when it just gets better - it's time to go and see the Living Root Bridges.

After a 15-minute walk I'm face-to-face with one of the most spectacular natural bridges I've seen that's made by twisting the roots of the gigantic rubber trees. The roots make a pathway across a stream, making it easy for villagers to commute. These bridges are unique to Meghalaya. All around Cherrapunjee there are a number of such bridges fashioned by Khasi villagers who have, over decades, woven the roots of ficus trees across rivulets and streams. The hardy roots slowly grow to form a cantilevered and intertwined mesh that is used as a bridge over waterways. Many of these bridges can only be reached by hiking through the forest for several hours, so I skip those and choose to see this one instead.

Another interesting thing the villagers have constructed here is the Sky View, an 85 feet high viewing tower that's made of bamboo. When I reach to the top I get stunning views of not just the village but also Bangladesh on the other side. It's simply gorgeous.

After a simple meal of dal, rice, potato and red chilies I turn in early. Next day as I am leaving the children beam and wave and villagers happily see me off. That's when I realise that it's the simplicity and warmth of the people that makes Mawlynnong so special.

Getting there: There are regular flights from all metro cities to Guwahati. From here, Mawlynnong is 190km away. You can break the journey at Shillong, 118km from the airport.

The article was first published in 2014, and has been updated since.

AUTHOR'S BIO: A traveller and foodie at heart, Pallavi Pasricha has explored many destinations across the world. But that never seems to be enough and she's always ready to hit the road again. Her obsession for travel is combined with a love for photography.

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where to head for a holiday in northeast india

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A day at the cleanest village in Asia: Mawlynnong, Meghalaya

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by Pallavi Pasricha (Lonely Planet Author) Jun 2018 I reach here and I am stumped. Not only is this village spotless clean but it's one of the prettiest ones I have seen in the country. I am greeted warmly and taken to the guest house, my home for the night.

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 Goals to Transform Our World by 2030.

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Meet the first SubAir System of the world@Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium

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Meet the first SubAir System of the world@Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium

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The M Chinnaswamy stadium is all set to receive an upgrade in its infrastructure with the installion of the SubAir subsurface aeration and the state-of-art vacuum powered drainage system. This is the newest innovation that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is bringing to cricket as the Chinnaswamy will be the first cricket stadium in the world to house this infrastructure.

The technology will help in preventing water logging in the outfield and will also help in draining the water 36 times faster than the prevalent normal systems. Consequently, the matches can be quickly resumed after any interruption due to rainfall. The project will cost Rs 4.25 crore, but it is well worth it.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Anil Kumar, who is the MD of Great Sports Infra, the marketing arm of SubAir, USA, said, "It is a matter of pride that KSCA is showing the world how to make use of technology in cricket infrastructure.

"The SubAir system automatically kicks into action the minute it starts raining, thereby not allowing any build up of water on the out field. Water begins to get sucked out at the rate of over 10,000 litres a minute from the moment it begins to rain. The suction system gets activated through signals from the remote sensors embedded in the field."

The system is capable of pumping in oxygen required for aeration of the roots which in turn ensures that the grass will stay healthy. Thus, by preventing turf diseases, excessive thatch, algae and black layer, it will help in maintaining a much better playing field. In addition to this, the technology also includes an inbuilt sprinkler system for watering.

One of the many pros of this modern technology is that it will optimise the use of water required for the turf. Hoever, KSCA will have to spend Rs 7 lakh annualy for maintenance of the drainage system.

Vinay Mruthunjaya, spokesperson of the KSCA, said, "This technology makes tremendous economic and financial sense and many games will be saved in the future."

KSCA vice-president Sanjay Desai said, "Fan experience is our primary objective. There is a risk of losing Rs 80-100 crore when a game gets washed out. We believe we have addressed this challenge."

Although this is the first cricket stadium in the world to house this technology, other stadiums like the Wembley (London, UK), Etihad Stadium (Manchester, UK), Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, and several others have installed the SubAir technology already. The system was also used for the football World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

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Bangalore: Chinnaswamy Stadium Becomes The First Cricket Stadium In The World To Install SubAir System

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The M Chinnaswamy stadium is all set to receive an upgrade in its infrastructure with the installion of the SubAir subsurface aeration and the state-of-art vacuum powered drainage system. This is the newest innovation that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is bringing to cricket as the Chinnaswamy will be the first cricket stadium in ...

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Mawlynnong,  - the Cleanest village in Asia, East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya, India.

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A car mechanic from India claims to have designed an astonishing car that runs on water.

Mohammad Raees Markani, 44, has been modifying an 800 cc engine for the last five years - and now believes he has made the scientific breakthrough.

The eco-friendly car uses a mix of water and carbides.

Incredibly, A one litre mix of this concoction costs under two pence - making it more cost effective than traditional fuels.

Markani, from the state of Madhya Pradesh, said: "The car runs on acetylene gas , which is formed from a chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water.

"The gas is used for several industrial purposes including welding and portable lighting for miners. But in my case, I am using it to propel the car engines .

"I have made other changes to the engines, which helps the overall performance of the car . So basically, it is just about the water."

Markani has been a car mechanic for over 15 years.

READ MORE: Top Gear host Chris Evans races to help rescue OAP in beach drama

He never went to school and cannot read or write. So the invention has been hailed as a great leap in Indian society - and made him a local celebrity.

"This idea struck my mind while I was gas welding a part of my car in my workshop many years ago. But I did not know how to go about it," Markani said.

"Somehow, I made a start and it took five years to make this efficient engine."

Markani now has a patent for his water car and has been invited by Chinese automobile companies to to develop the idea further.

READ MORE: Dakar Rally crash: Four spectators injured after car ploughs into crowd - before race even starts

He added: "The market for environmentally friendly cars is getting bigger and automobile companies around the world are looking for eco-friendly ways to reduce pollution.

"So a car like mine can be a good alternative. It costs close to nothing to operate and it is environment friendly."

All the companies that are interested in Raees's water car project will have to meet his one condition - any plant to make new cars will be established only in his hometown in Madhya Pradesh.

Markani said: "I want things to change in my hometown. So this is where my work should continue."

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H2Go! This amazing car runs on fuel that costs less than 2p a litre

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A car mechanic from India claims to have designed an astonishing car that runs on water. Mohammad Raees Markani, 44, has been modifying an 800 cc engine for the last five years - and now believes he has made the scientific breakthrough. The eco-friendly car uses a mix of water and carbides.

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The first list of air-filtering plants was compiled by NASA as part of a clean air study published in 1989, which researched ways to clean air in space stations. As well as absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, as all plants do, these plants also eliminate significant amounts of benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

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A Matchbox, Candle, String, Nail, Sticks & Soap - enough to save billions of lives

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A Matchbox, Candle, String, Nail, Sticks & Soap - enough to save billions of lives

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Did you know that millions of deaths each year can be saved by just the simple act of washing hands with soap? Over 2.2 million children under the age of 5 die every year from diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children across the world. Although we clean our hands with water, very few use soap to wash hands.

Seen here is a disarmingly simple idea to drive the use of soap for hand-washing in public places. No running water or sink? Just collect a few every day objects to set up the Tippy Tap, a low tech, low cost, water-saving hand washing device.

To know more, please visit tippytap.org - a partnership between WMG ( watershedmg.org) and Grampari ( grampari.org)

Filmed and directed by Andrew Hinton at Pilgrim Films
Music by Jamie Perera: jamieperera.com
Graded by Eric Trometer: tarmakmedia.com
Audio mix by Farrell: audiomonkey.tv
Produced by Sowmya Somnath and Jared Buono

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A Matchbox, Candle, String, Nail, Sticks & Soap: That's All You Need To Save Millions Of Lives.

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Did you know that millions of deaths each year can be saved by just the simple act of washing hands with soap? Over 2.2 million children under the age of 5 die every year from diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children across the world.

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Daily Dump – Easy and Effective Waste Management

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Daily Dump – Easy and Effective Waste Management

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One question that you would perhaps like to answer is "How do I reduce my contribution to the city's garbage system without altering my lifestyle too much?" Well, let Daily Dump answer that for you.
Daily Dump provides a commercial compost 'pit' that you can have at your home. All your leftovers and other organic waste can be dumped into these pits. Within a few months this becomes manure and you can use it for your garden or just sell it off to a needy farmer maybe.

Early Days

Daily Dump, the brain child of Ms Poonam Bir Kasturi, evolved from the question - How can design make a difference? Poonam graduated in Product Design in 1985 from the National Institute of Design. She worked in a small scale manufacturing company after college and then set up a craft based design company called Industree with two other partners. She quit after 5 years and set up Playnspeak, a proprietorship concern, to make products for the home. At the same time Poonam also was the founding faculty of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore which she in May 2008 to start Daily Dump.

So, what exactly is Daily Dump?

In simple words, this product allows every homeowner to reduce their contribution to city waste. In India, no commerical home composter was available till the Daily Dump product was launched.
It is designed for a single family as the "customer". It is supported by a service backup and customer support. It actually helps families convert their wet waste into eco-friendly compost. The knowledge base is open-source to encourage micro-enterprises.

How to start Daily Dump-ing?
1. Order a Daily Dump composting product from the address given below.
2. Install it in your home
3. Start putting all your organic waste in this compost pot.
4. Rejoice in having reduced the burden on your city's waste management system!

The Product and its elements

Daily Dump has designed a product with which anyone can convert kitchen waste into compost at home. The product, made of terra-cotta, is sourced from village potters. It is marketed through word-of-mouth referrals, media awareness, and their website. It is sold through channels including individuals, retail stores, and societies. The designs are 'open source', so individuals in other locations can replicate, adapt, build on, sell and use - for wide and rapid propagation of the idea.

The current product works well in independent homes; and they are working on a 'mechanical composter' for use in flats. Daily Dump's vision is to see a composter pre-fitted in every flat sold in the country, as a standard fitting. Daily Dump not only retro fits composters at homes and other establishments but also provides maintenance advice and assistance through its service plans, essentially allowing you to just dump and letting nature and Daily Dump do the rest.

This product, in addition to reducing waste, serves as a way to get over the social stigma attached to waste in our country. Without being preachy it makes the job of taking care of your waste "doable" and "possible".

The potters who make the terra cotta pots have benefited significantly - their profitability has increased since they started making these products.

The Team

The current Daily Dump team comprises of:
Poonam Bir Kasturi (Founder), Delara Damania (Designer), Savitha, Shwetha, Vinita, Trupti, Sudheer and Anupama

Current Challenges

The challenge faced by the team presently is to create sustainable revenue streams and make money out of all the research and design work that they have done. The team has also learnt a lot and is looking to partner with NGO's now to make strategic connections to enable waste to be managed better all over the country. Daily Dump has a robust design and an easily replicable one, which can be adapted by most people all over India.

Looking forward, Daily Dump is in the process of prototyping a mechanical composter to be retrofitted into homes in India. For this, they are looking to work with builders and see if this product can then enter into every home as a standard fitting.
The Daily Dump team is constantly trying to figure out:

How to get builders to retrofit a composter in each balcony and utility?

How to design a new mechanical composter such that it follows the cradle to cradle philosophy and yet is cheap and fits into the informal manufacturing setup that dots the Indian urban landscape?

Recognition

Daily Dump has received the following awards & honors:

"Nominated for the INDEX awards 2007 - an international award to improve the quality of life

Awarded the Green Product of the Year by Anchor Better Interior Excellence Awards 2007

Made it to the final round of the TATA NEN Hottest Startups 2009.

Indira International Innovation's 'Star Entrepreneur of the Year Award', 2009

Made it to the final round of the Sankalp Social Enterprise and Investment Forum Award 2009.

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Daily Dump - Easy and Effective Waste Management

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One question that you would perhaps like to answer is "How do I reduce my contribution to the city's garbage system without altering my lifestyle too much?" Well, let Daily Dump answer that for you. Daily Dump provides a commercial compost 'pit' that you can have at your home.

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Swachh Bharat - Eco friendly toilets are making India cleaner

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Swachh Bharat - Eco friendly toilets are making India cleaner

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Bincy Baby, a civil engineer and a management graduate by profession, always wondered why something cannot be done about the poor condition of public sanitation system in the country. She was struck by the paradox that in a country like India with over 1.2 billion people, 55% of this population (nearly 600 million people) has no access to toilets.

The situation is even more challenging for young, school-going girls who are unable to get access to this basic necessity. Every month, girls between the ages of 12 and 18 are missing school for 5 days every month during their menstrual cycle because there are no decent toilet facilities in the school.

"And then I thought about the importance of IT in solving everyday issues. I believed that if technology is used in a smarter way, it could impact the lives of hundreds of people," Bincy says.

That is when she joined Eram Scientific Solutions Pvt. Ltd., the team that was coming up with innovative solutions to change the way public sanitation worked in the country.

They were driven by a basic premise that sanitation and more specifically public sanitation is untouched by innovation of any nature in the past century or so, in spite of innovations invading all other spheres of our life. Even after so many pockets of revolution happening around the world for right to sanitation, we still consider sanitation a taboo.

As per a study done by Indian children right's organization CRY 11 percent of schools do not have basic sanitation facilities. Only 18 percent have separate toilets for girls and 34 percent school toilets are in unusable condition.

Not only this, did you know that 626 million people in India - the highest in the world - defecate in the open as they don't have a toilet? While sanitation is one of the most important human rights, it is shocking to see how much it has been ignored by the authorities.

Apart from a lack of toilets, their maintenance also poses a major challenge. A large majority of people do not use the public toilets dueto their unhygienic and unclean condition. This alarming situation calls for immediate action, and Kerala-based Eram is providing a brilliant solution through eToilets.

eToilet is India's first unmanned Electronic Public Toilet and is portable, hygienically maintained, and eco-friendly.

How does it work?

e-Toilets are unmanned toilets which work on a sensor-based technology. The self-cleaning and water conservation mechanism in the toilet makes it unique.

The user has to insert a coin to open the door and its sensor-based light system is automatically turned on once you enter the toilet. It also directs the user with audio commands.

To conserve water, the toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 litre of water after three minutes of usage and 4.5 litres if the usage is longer. This "smart" toilet also washes the platform by itself after every five or 10 persons use the toilet. An instructional note is pasted outside the toilet to make the user familiar with the functioning of this toilet.

"Though the eToilet is self-cleaning and automatic, sometimes people throw litter or use it wrongly. To deal with all such incidents, we have a service team that conducts periodic visits to the toilets for maintenance and repair. All the eToilets are connected over a GPRS network.The web interface at our control centre keeps track of the performance of the eToilets and collects data regarding usage, downtime, usage charges collected, etc. This provides accountability of this public infrastructure. The respective municipalities can check the usage pattern in real time and this is a very innovative concept which we have implemented in all eToilets," informs Bincy.

Funded mostly by MP or MLA funds and local bodies like panchayats, the basic model of the toilet costs Rs.2 lakhs while the advanced version which is made from stainless steel costs Rs.4-5 lakhs. After installation, the operation costs are met by the small usage charge and income from the advertisement area on the interiors, keeping the model sustainable.

The challenges

"It was difficult for us to make people understand the importance of an eToilet. They are so used to the idea of a mop and a cleaning lady, that they found it difficult to trust that this idea could actually work," Bincy says.

Another challenge is to find the appropriate site. The toilet needs to be easily accessible but also not very close to crowded areas at the same time. The eToilets have solar power options, options to use reduced amount of water and a sensor-enabled system to conserve water and electricity usage. In spite of all this, interrupted supply of electricity and water often affect their smooth functioning.

The Helping hand

Eram had an interesting idea but it still required regular research and development to sustain in the market and Marico Innovation Foundation's Social Innovation Acceleration Programme (MIF-SIAP) came as a blessing in disguise. The programme focuses on the "growth phase" of an idea and helps the organization to implement the idea in such a way that it leaves a larger impact.

"We were facing a challenge in scaling up and getting a hold in the private market. MIF gave us interesting ideas and the support to do so," Bincy says.

MIF, in collaboration with various B-schools, gets students to work in various social sector projects. They mobilisedthe students of XLRI Jamshedpur to prepare documentation for the sanitation project and brain-storm on how it could be approved.

The most important part played by MIF was to provide value engineering and to help Eram come up with better versions of these eToilets. MIF's intervention in Eram's case has helped them to not only market the technology but also develop the product as per the needs of the users.

In addition to this, their major contribution was in re-evaluating the targets - while Eram hoped to install 400 eToilets before MIF intervention, they reworked this target to install 18,200 eToiletsin the next two years!

The impact

The Eram team has so far managed to construct 500 such toilets in 10 states of India, including 150 eToilets in various schools.They have managed to set up over 200 sewage treatment plants and have been recognized with over 30 awards globally.

"The toilets in schools are 'girl-friendly' and offer facilities like napkin incinerators and vending machines. Also, the biggest benefit of starting these toilets in schools is that children are more open to experimenting and using new technology, while it is harder to make older people get accustomed to change," Bincy says.

When most of the people avoid using public toilets due to their bad conditions, this technology is gradually changing the scenario of public sanitation in the country.

The future

"eToilets alone cannot fix the sanitation problem of the entire country. But we have been able to make an impact on how sanitation is touching the lives of women and girl children in the last few years. A very focuseld hand-holding of a number of stakeholders including Governemnt, private sector, CSR, civil scoeity need to act in tandem to address this critical challenge," Bincy says.

Hence, the team is also dabbling in Sewage Treatment Technology to make the model self-sustainable. It is a licensee of DRDO technology. Eram Scientific is closely working with other grantees of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation for developing toilets that can regenerate energy and water from sewage waste. Two field trials with California Institute of Technology and Duke University are already underway in Ahmedabad and Chennai.

To make the technology more accessible and approachable, Eram wants to launch a low cost version of these toilets which would cost Rs. 1 lakh. It is a huge challenge to provide quality services at such a low cost, but the team is committed to make it happen.

Expanding the project to other states of the country is yet another item on their agenda. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a Rs. 3-crore 'Reinvent the Toilet Challenge' grant to Eram Scientific Solutions which will be used for further research, development and implementation of the project.

The two cents

"No one wants to dirty their hands. This field is often looked down by people and no one wants to work extensively here. Someone who wants to do a similar project needs to be passionate about what he/she is doing, " Bincy says.

Bincy also believes that challenges in water and sanitation need to be addressed comprehensively and the recent awakening in this direction is a good step forward. Futuristic, technology-enabled toilets are here to stay. The challenge on the team henceforth would be to provide self-sustained off-grid toilets with best of cleanliness and hygiene for millions of otherwise deprived users.

Eram's work in the field of sanitation has been commendable. They are not just constructing the toilets but also making people realize the importance of hygiene and cleanliness, which is an equally big challenge when it comes to public toilets. For more details, visit their website here: http://www.eramscientific.com/.

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This eToilet Is Changing The Way Public Sanitation Works In India

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Many of us hesitate in using a public toilet because it is unclean and badly maintained. Girls miss school days every month and open defecation prevails. In spite of being in such an alarming state, sanitation is often ignored.

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A paper bridge - it can hold 80 times more the weight of itself

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A paper bridge - it can hold 80 times more the weight of itself

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This amazing, portable paper bridge made from just paper and glue can take up around 80 times its self weight and can be successfully replicated for bigger projects. Here's what the ingenious IIT Delhi students have been up to now!

How would you react if we told you that a bridge made out of just paper, water and glue can take 80 times of its own weight and is water- & fire-proof?

Civil engineering students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have come up with one such interesting innovation that is making people sit up and take notice.

What started as just a project idea by five students from IIT Delhi in 2011 became so popular that it received queries from around the globe.

" We thought of doing something different. A lot of bridges have been made from ice cream sticks. They are already made of wood and contain weight bearing capacity, so we decided to do something which hasn't been tried before. And that is when we planned to make a bridge using just paper, water and glue," says Sumeet Kumar Sinha, one of brains behind this project.

How did they make it?

This one meter long span truss bridge was made using only A4 sized regular paper sheets and a mixture of water and glue. The ratio of the mixture was 2:1 (water: adhesive).

The sheets of A4 paper were rolled tightly with Fevicol and water mixture in the required ratio. These columns were later cut to appropriate dimensions as per the requirement.

" Making joints was the most difficult task. Other bridge models use nuts, bolts, etc. to stick the parts together, but in paper bridge we could not use that, " says Sinha.

Later on, the bridge was kept under the sunlight to make it stronger and harder. Finally, after efforts of over a month, a paper bridge weighing 3.72 kgs was ready which could take a weight of 250 kgs - 80 times its self-weight!

Why paper?

" It is very economical and environment-friendly as we are using waste paper to make the bridge," says Sinha. The bridge has a life span of at least five to six years.

The paper bridge experiences no thermal expansion, is easy to make and can be moved anywhere. " To prevent damage from water and fire, we will do a coating on the bridge so that it can survive extreme conditions too," Sinha says.

Right now, the bridge is just a prototype and has not been implemented at a large scale. But the team is certain that a similar bridge can be made for use on small projects like canal crossings, etc.

Do you know of these other innovations by IIT-ians that are changing lives?
The Brilliant Smart Cane That Could Change The Way Blind People Move Around Forever! The Mobile App That Ensures Better Safety From Gender Based Violence By Working With The Police The IIT-ian's Innovation Which Is Helping Cotton Farmers In Vidarbha Double Their Income!
The team also wants to commercialize the product and is working to create a stronger and bigger model. "It was great to see the people's response. They did not believe that it is just made out of paper. They thought we have inserted some rod in it to make it so firm. But it is just paper and the right mixture of water and adhesive!" Sinha exclaims.

The project received a tremendously positive response during the exhibition where this project was displayed along with 300 other interesting innovations at IIT Delhi. They got mails and queries from across the globe which assured them that if implemented properly, this bridge can actually find many uses in the real world.
Watch this video to understand more about this unique paper bridge:
[embedvideo id="OG9-h1_39Cc" website="youtube"]

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia)

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Have You Heard Of A Bridge Made Of Paper That Can Take 80 Times Its Own Weight?

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This amazing, portable paper bridge made from just paper and glue can take up around 80 times its self weight and can be successfully replicated for bigger projects. Here's what the ingenious IIT Delhi students have been up to now! More

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How a simple dot can change billions of lives - Jeevan Bindi 

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How a simple dot can change billions of lives - Jeevan Bindi 

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The revolutionary "Jeevan Bindi" can act as an iodine patch and help millions of women in rural India live a healthier life. Here is all you need to know about the innovative and highly beneficial idea.

Anytime you happen to be in an Indian village and see the women there, one thing you will almost certainly notice on their forehead is a bindi, a small round dot which has several meanings in the Indian context, from religious to spiritual to even cosmetic.

But did you know that the same small bindi can serve as an iodine patch and provide the important mineral to millions of women in rural India, helping them lead healthier lives?

Lack of Iodine is now linked to several life threatening medical conditions including breast cancer, brain damage and several pregnancy-related complications. And in India, unfortunately, iodine deficiency is a grim reality due to the deficiency found in the subcontinent's soil. Although iodine-fortified salt has been introduced in the country, an estimated 350 million people still do not use it.

Thanks to Singapore-based Grey Group, the bindi can now become much more than just a small dot. They have come up with an idea of the life saving dot, the "Jeevan Bindi", that can address the widespread issue of iodine deficiency among rural Indian women.

"Millions of women in rural India suffer from life threatening diseases due to lack of iodine in their bodies. They are not even aware of it and don't even use iodized salt. This idea can address the deficiency in a very simple and effective way," says Prachi Pawar, President, Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Centre.

Though there are medical supplements to fill this deficiency but most women in Indian villages cannot afford it. Hence, the idea to convert bindis into iodine patches can be revolutionary.

To test this idea and give it a shot, Grey Group's not-for-profit arm Grey For Good partnered with Maharashtra-based NGO, Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Centre to develop an iodine patch bindi under the Talwar Bindi brand in March 2015.

The Talwar bindi has been distributed to several taluks in Maharshtra and Delhi along with tribal areas in Nepal. The team has received an overwhelming response with more and more women showing interest in the unique dot.

The bindi does not have any side effects or cause skin rashes and can be worn for many hours at a stretch. After the iodine of the bindi is absorbed by the body, it becomes a regular dot.

"We distributed the samples in the villages and got an response. It is just an idea right now. They were specially designed to test the success of such a product. So if someone wants to manufacture it, they can. The idea is out there in the market," says Pawar.

[embedvideo id="Sclg_AfGzcE" website="youtube"]

Now a bindi need not be just a beauty dot but can serve as an everyday product that can save million of lives. That's the power of ideas!

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

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VIDEO: How The Simple Bindi Can Save Millions Of Lives

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The revolutionary "Jeevan Bindi" can act as an iodine patch and help millions of women in rural India live a healthier life. Here is all you need to know about the innovative and highly beneficial idea.

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Thinking what you would get in return for throwing garbage? - Free WiFi!

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Thinking what you would get in return for throwing garbage? - Free WiFi!

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Throw garbage in a bin and get free WiFi in return? Sounds unreal? This duo from Mumbai has made it possible with its unique innovation called the 'WiFi Trash Bin.' This is how it works.

"If you think about it, keeping the country clean is a very thankless job...nobody comes and pats you on the back for throwing garbage in the dustbin. But we can at least acknowledge the efforts that people are making towards a cleaner nation."

- Raj Desai, a technology buff from Mumbai.

Raj, along with his friend Pratik Agarwal, has come up with a perfect way to appreciate those who try and keep their surroundings clean - a brilliantly innovative and amazing technology - the WiFi Trash Bin.

The founders decided that if it can't be a pat on the back they can definitely give out something else, something that will not only be useful but will also act as a strong incentive for people to throw garbage where it should be thrown. Thus, they came up with the idea of a specially designed dustbin which gives free WiFi to people who use it.

"When you throw trash in the dustbin, an access code will be generated on the LED display in front of the bin. You can then use that access code to connect to the WiFi network of the dustbin," explains Raj.

The router for the connection is a part of the dustbin's design.

25-year-old Raj and Pratik started their own organization called ThinkScream in 2011, with the aim of providing new age technology solutions. B.Com graduates from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, both Raj and Pratik come from non-tech backgrounds. They had to learn the different concepts of development and programming and other technological concepts on their own.

They began by setting up WiFi networks for places like multiplexes, retails shops, music festivals, and events like trade shows. And for all these places, they developed some unique products.

For example, the WiFi networks that they set up in multiplexes are such that when a person is logged into the network, he/she can order food from providers inside the multiplex without having to leave the seat during the movie, and without the need to download any special app. All the person needs to do is to log into the network and use the custom-designed website to order food.

"The idea behind ThinkScream was to solve some problems and make this world a little bit better. We started by solving simple problems, such as food ordering in cinemas, and then graduated to the issue of connectivity at high crowd density gatherings," says Raj.

In 2013, they were setting up a network at a music festival for the first time. It was the NH7 Weekender, which is the biggest festival for independent music in the country. "We wanted to do something crazy at the festival, something beyond the vanilla WiFi," says Raj. So they started exploring the kind of problems faced at these festivals.

One major issue they found was that amidst the music, food, drinks, and all the fun, not many people were concerned about cleanliness. At the end of it all, the entire place was left looking like a large garbage dump.

This gave them the idea of incentivising garbage disposal for people whose sole purpose for attending the festival was to have a good time.

What was the one thing they were not getting there? A free and fast WiFi connection. Combine the two things, and voila! - you have a dustbin that generates WiFi codes when you throw in garbage!

For this project, they partnered with two organizations - MTS (sponsors) and Brandmovers (activation agency).

"We were there during the installation of the device and we saw people standing in a queue to use it. We had never seen people forming a queue for a dustbin before," says an exultant Raj.

After that, they set up the dustbins in different venues of the festival - Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore.

This video shows how the Free WiFi Trash Bin was used to keep the NH7 Weekender clean.

"The dustbin uses multiple technologies. The first is the WiFi technology which we have to optimise to make sure that all the generated codes work properly. The second is the technology used for motion sensing and figuring out how the trash comes in and its movement. And the third is the entire bridge between the motion sensor and the WiFi network to ensure that they connect at the right time. So it is a mix of hardware and software technologies," explains Raj.

The WiFi network can be designed as desired. So the range can vary from a few metres to an entire campus or office. The dustbin either uses the connection set up by ThinkScream or a connection from a nearby location, which is done with the help of their servers.

One device costs between Rs. 50,000 and 1 lakh in development. The development of the dustbins is usually done in partnership with different organizations.

Other than the trash bin, the duo is also thinking of various ways in which technology can be used to change behaviour.

"We are expanding the entire concept of design thinking. We want to start taking design to multiple levels. So, in places where WiFi will not be as useful, it could be something as simple as the dustbin saying thank you, or smiling at you when you throw garbage. The idea is to acknowledge the efforts of people with basic incentives which need not be monetary or materialistic," explains Raj, who believes that it is easier to incentivise people than to penalise and demoralise them.

As of now, the two have set up the waste bin at about eight to ten places, which include some events like a business conference and a pharmaceutical event.

They are now targeting corporate offices, residential societies, shopping complexes, etc., and are looking for large-scale projects. In the future, they also plan to expand and set up the dustbins on the streets.

You can contact Raj by writing to him at raj@thinkscream.com.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

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What Can You Get in Return for Throwing Garbage? Free WiFi!

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Throw garbage in a bin and get free WiFi in return? Sounds unreal? This duo from Mumbai has made it possible with its unique innovation called the 'WiFi Trash Bin.' This is how it works. "If you think about it, keeping the country clean is a very thankless job...nobody comes and pats you on the back for throwing garbage in the dustbin.

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Why do we need bottled water - while we have water ATM

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Why do we need bottled water - while we have water ATM

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Pi-lo water vending machines are making pure drinking water accessible and affordable to all. They are also attacking the plastic menace created by bottled water.

In 2011, when the massive anti-corruption protests led by Anna Hazare swept Delhi, city cleaners also had to sweep away thousands of plastic water bottles. While the protestors were on the roads shouting slogans throughout the day, they needed water to quench their thirst. But access to safe drinking water was a problem. The most convenient option was bottled water. For those who couldn't afford these bottles priced at Rs 20 each, cheaply available water packets that are largely unsafe for consumption were the only source of water. The city had no other convenient and accessible public sources of drinking water. At the end of the day, many fell ill from drinking contaminated water and the plastic menace was revolting.

Vikas Malik was shocked to see this situation. He wanted to change the scenario and make safe drinking water accessible and affordable for all. With this vision, Vikas joined hands with his friends Jatin Ahlawat, Parveen Singh, Ajay Yadav, and Mohamad Yunus Ansari. "We are a team of engineers, automation experts, water technology experts and social workers. We decided that we will build drinking water ATMs - water vending machines that will dispense water that is purified using Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology at a cost that everyone can afford. With this intent we started Abhyuday Automation in 2013," says Vikas.

After investing over two years in raising funds and building a robust technology, the team launched water vending machines called 'Pi-lo' in 2015.

Pi-lo dispenses pure, chilled water 24/7 at just Rs 2 for 250 ml and Rs 5 for one litre - four times cheaper than bottled water!

How is Pi-lo able to provide RO water at this price? Vivek Malik explains, "RO purified water is considered 100% pure for consumption. But the technology's biggest downfall is the wastage. The usual rate of wastage in RO filters is as high as 40-50%. We decided on Zero Liquid Discharge technology, where 95% of the input water is made available for consumption. This helped us reduce the wastage cost. Then we decided that we will not spend any money on advertising. We decided to partner with public institutions and make our vending carts visibly available in public places. We also made sure that our water transportation cost is low by creating water source points across Delhi. All this helped us in keeping our pricing exceptionally low".

As much as the team wanted to keep the cost low, they also were obsessed with the quality of water. Pi-lo has a real time water quality display, something that no one in the country is currently doing. Its built-in sensors check purity in terms of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), temperature and ph level of water and display these for the users in real time. They have also made testing kits available at the kiosks for people to check the water quality for themselves. The kiosks display and distribute printed information about the standard water purity indicators to create awareness. "If the water quality is below the standards, Pi-lo just shuts down and will not dispense water. That's how much we are obsessed with purity," says Vikas.

Pi-lo stays away from plastic cups and bottles. Paper cups are made available and people are encouraged to bring their own bottles to fill water.

Pi-lo kiosks have also started to sell copper and clay water bottles, which are considered healthier alternatives to plastic bottles. Pi-lo wants people to completely shun the habit of using plastic bottles.

The Pi-lo vending machines are located at over 80 locations, including 28 metro stations in Delhi-NCR. These coin-based self-service kiosks dispense close to 10,000 litres of pure water every day. Pi-lo is coming soon to Hyderabad and Chennai metro stations too. Plans are afoot to make Pi-lo available in schools, communities, supermarkets, and train and bus stations too.

You can write to Pi-lo at info@pilo.co.in

Like this story? Have something to share? Email: contact@thebetterindia.com, or join us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia). To get positive news on WhatsApp, just send 'Start' to 090 2900 3600 via WhatsApp.

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Say Goodbye to Bottled Water - These Water ATMs Dispense RO Water at Just Rs 5 per Litre!

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Pi-lo water vending machines are making pure drinking water accessible and affordable to all. They are also attacking the plastic menace created by bottled water. In 2011, when the massive anti-corruption protests led by Anna Hazare swept Delhi, city cleaners also had to sweep away thousands of plastic water bottles.

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Farmers tackling India's climate change with the help of low - cost tools

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Farmers tackling India's climate change with the help of low - cost tools

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The technologies also came accompanied by ready-to-use kits, such as a bucket kit or a drum kit, which were customized to help farmers grow off-season crops and raise their income. Unlike expensive diesel pumps or drip systems for large tracts, these kits could be used on tiny plots and could be bought for as little as Rs 250.

A small farmer, Nabin Amanatya, can attest to the IDEI pump's user- friendliness. Afflicted with polio, he struggled for years farming his family's spit-sized plot that reached a mere tenth of a hectare. Then in 2006, he bought a treadle pump. His neighbours teased him when they saw him trying to make a go with the pedals. But he was soon tending a thriving garden of cucumber, ridge gourd, and lady's finger - vegetables that are very popular in the local market. Within two years, Amanatya had repaid his father's loan and had switched to better seeds and fertilizers.

While there were many such encouraging examples, Sadangi realised early on that developing technologies and making them affordable wasn't enough. It also had to be sold to mostly illiterate farmers who preferred using age-old means and were reluctant to try new technology.

"Farmers need to be made aware of the benefits of using a treadle pump, of how it can improve the quality of their lives. When a farmer can think beyond the next meal, he can think of his family's nutrition, his children's education, thereby creating a sustainable chain", says Sadangi.

To build the demand for IDEI's innovations, Sadangi resorted to another innovative approach-film-making. IDEI produces films that have a hero, a plot, singing and dancing-and problems. This comes along with a product that solves the problems and makes everyone happy.
Also Read: Celebrating India's Rural Women: 3 Inspiring Stories of Women Farmers Bringing About Change
Most studies have shown that farmers who have used IDE-India's treadle pumps and other systems have managed to increase their net annual income by at least Rs. 20,000. The low-cost micro-irrigation equipment has also helped farmers reduce their dependence on India's notoriously unreliable monsoon showers.

With grants from the US-based Skoll and Lemelsen foundations,IDEI is constantly looking for better and newer technologies and has moved on to devising low-cost sprinklers and water storage tanks. As their treadle pumps make a huge saving on diesel, the organisation also raises funds by selling carbon credits to MNCs. These funds will be utilised in developing cheap solar and wind pumps as well as setting up a micro-credit company for poor farmers.

Sadangi's vision is to empower even the poorest farmers to irrigate their land. Opposed to idea of freebies and subsidy, he believes that giving rural farmers a chance to pull themselves out of poverty is the way towards sustainable and dignified development. A soft-spoken and shy man, he says,

"If ten more people will start working like me, I think that will be my biggest contribution."

Over the years, the non-profit initiative has evolved into an organization that works to provide the poorest populations of the world with the tools and resources they need to become self-sufficient and build both their income and their community. Each IDEI technology is designed to be one-fifth the cost of its competitors, scaled down to fit one-tenth hectare plots, and able to generate sales at an unsubsidized market price.

IDEI also provides technical, financial, consulting and business development services to its customers, enabling them to enter high-value commercial agriculture. For instance, IDEI learnt that due to incomplete labelling and use of English, farmers were often unable to get the exact information about the product they are buying. As a result, they unknowingly ended up buying expired seeds or low quality ones.

In response, IDEI is promoting Vegetable Nurseries in the villages. The organisation builds the capacities of smallholder farmers who have overcome irrigation challenges (either through IDEI promoted technologies/ through other devices) and can spare some land on their field exclusively for establishing nursery. These farmer-entrepreneurs provide good quality sapling to other farmers, teach techniques to assure germination in the field and promote high value crop cultivation that will bring good returns to the poor farmers.

The capacities of these farmers are further built in developing bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides and plant nutrient. The entrepreneurs then package these materials and sell to other farmers. These items are developed from locally available material such as dried leaves, cow dung etc and are therefore not very expensive. While the user farmers save money as these are cheaper than other available material and the farmer-entrepreneur is able to augment his/her income.

In addition, IDEI is also promoting the concept of developing soil health cards among the farmers. To facilitate this IDEI collects soil sample from the field of representative farmers as specified by the agencies and deposits at the nearest institution. Once analysed IDEI shares the analysis with the respective farmers and encourages them to undertake the required treatments for betterment of the soil.

IDEI conducts training programme for the identified entrepreneurs in allied agricultural fields like apiculture/ honey bee farming, spice cultivation, agro-climatic vegetable cultivation, rice intensification system etc. It has also developed a low cost greenhouse to benefit small holder farmers who find it difficult to afford conventional greenhouse structures.

Thanks to IDEI's efforts, many marginalised farmers now cultivate throughout the year, which contributes to increased food security and a decline in migration; 20% reported investing income in their children's education and 15% have increased spending on family health.

Till date, the organization has helped one million farming households spread over 17 states increase their annual income! IDEI is now exporting its technologies to countries in Africa and Southeast Asia, aiming to reach 30 million people by 2020.

In recognition of their efforts to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions of the rural poor, Sadangi and IDEI have been honoured with several awards, including the prestigious Templeton Freedom Prize for Social Entrepreneurship (2005), the Tech Museum BD Biosciences Economic Development Award (2010), the Zayed Future Energy Prize (2010), and the Ashden Outstanding Achievement Award (2009).
Contact Details
Email: amitabha@ide-india.org
Website: www.ide-india.org

You can connect with the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ide.india.

Also Read: How a Young Couple from Delhi Left City Life behind to Become Full-Time Organic Farmers in Mysore

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How One Man's Simple Low-Cost Tools Are Helping Millions of Farmers Tackle Climate Change in India

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The technologies also came accompanied by ready-to-use kits, such as a bucket kit or a drum kit, which were customized to help farmers grow off-season crops and raise their income. Unlike expensive diesel pumps or drip systems for large tracts, these kits could be used on tiny plots and could be bought for as little as Rs 250.

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An electrical engineer and IIM Alumnus - helping small farmers with innovative ideas 

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An electrical engineer and IIM Alumnus - helping small farmers with innovative ideas 

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Engineer and business graduate Devi Murthy identified growing difficulties faced by small-scale Indian farmers. A majority of agrarian workers in the country were finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with rising labour costs, but were unable to mechanise their cultivation processes because imported farm equipment was unsuitable to their modest farm sizes. With her farming equipment development company, Kamal Kisan, she began to customise her products to suit the needs of the small-time Indian farmer.

In a survey done in 2014 by CSDS it was found that, given an option, 76% of farmers in India would prefer to take up alternative lines of work. Poor income, bleak future prospects and job stress were cited as the main reasons for this trend.

The survey covered a comprehensive 5,000 farm households across 18 states.

With farmers spending over 40% of their total cultivation costs on labour alone, the profession is no longer deemed profitable inciting over 100,000 farmers to give up farming every year. A lack of relevant technology and the burgeoning costs of labour- increasing by nearly double over every three-year period - set the stage for serious food security concerns by 2020.

On the other hand a PTI report, published early in January last year, states that while around 1.5 million engineering students graduate every year in India 80% of them remain unemployed.These students mostly end up working out of their areas of expertise, in roles that don't interest them.

The founder of Kamal Kisan, Devi Murthy, saw a potential solution to both problems.

"India, as a country, is capable of a lot more innovations in agriculture but we are not doing enough in that area. Indians are known for their jugaad mechanism. We need to take this mechanism to the next level where it gets community focus and not individual focus," she says.

It was with this belief that Devi- who holds an electrical engineering degree from Drexel University, USA and Masters in Entrepreneurship from IIM, Bangalore -began Kamal Kisan. Her aim was to kick-start a company that would develop cost-effective, smart mechanization solutions for India's small and marginal farmers, to reduce labour dependence and increase profitability.

It was taken for granted that Devi would join the family business, an established sheet metal fabrications and components manufacturing company called Kamal Bells. Keeping with tradition, she joined the firm as Head of Product Development and Business Development and worked at the post for over six years.

However she was unable to shake off a desire to begin a project that would create social impact. The idea first occurred to her while she was pursuing her Masters in Entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. One of her classmates, who belonged to a farmer's family, suggested that she use her skills to help farmers.

Devi began her journey to start Kamal Kisan by spending two years travelling across the country to meet small farmers. She also visited various institutes such as the CIAE in Bhopal and the UAS in Dharwad. Her research made her realize the large gap that existed between the needs of the Indian farmer and the expensive, large-sized, imported machinery used in farming.

Despite the fact that India is the 3 rd largest tractor manufacturer in the world, less than 2% of the country's farmers use mechanization. A dearth of equipment and scarce availability of hands-on-the-ground have driven up labour costs. Farmlands with less than five acres of area constitute more than 80% of farm holdings in the country today. The increasing non-availability of labour has become a major concern among farmers as it leads to low productivity. Furthermore, adapting modern, mechanized techniques in cultivation have proven to be difficult because most available machinery is unsuitable for small farms.

Devi decided to use her machine development skills to help small farmers.

"We, as innovators, never see small farmers as our customers. I think this perspective has to be changed," says Devi.

A hardcore city girl, Devi had never visited a farm before. But once she became focused on developing products for the sector, she began to attend farmer fairs, travel to fields across the country and survey farmers to better understand their needs and the products already available in the market.

Often, she juggled her newfound interest in farm equipment with her day job at the family firm.

"I would sneak out two hours earlier than usual from my regular job and spend time at my workshop in the same facility. I had hired two people with my salary and together we would inspect existing farm equipment from China and tinker around to see how we could make it better and suitable for the Indian farmer," she recalls.

Finally, with a seed fund of Rs.5 lakh from the Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI) at IIT Madras, Devi began her experiment in 2013. She also received incubation and mentoring from Villgro Innovation Foundation in 2014 to ensure her venture had all the support to succeed.

Kamal Kisan first manufactured a vegetable planter in July 2015. The product was priced low to make it affordable to small farmers. The feedback was overwhelming.

"A small farmer who bought our product was so happy with the reduced labour and cost effectiveness that he personally came to thank me. You get to enjoy such experiences only if you are working for a social impact," says Devi.

When asked about whether she found her line of work difficult because she was a woman in a typically male-dominated field, she responds positively, saying that her gender never made a difference to the farmers she worked alongside. On the contrary, most people seemed taken with the idea of a foreign-educated girl working for them. Devi soon discovered that it was often times the urban public who came with a discriminatory mind-set with regards to gender-specific work, rather than the vast workforce across rural India.

Today, Kamal Kisan has been able to reach over 800 farmers and deliver a cumulative saving of over Rs. 10 lakh.

At present, the firm has several innovative products for small farms on the market, as well as plans to develop at least two products in the pipeline per year.

Foremost among these is the Vegetable Planter, a handy low-cost machine that eases the cultivating process of most fruit and vegetable saplings with an increased process efficiency.

The planter allows for a single laborer to plant a one acre plot with vegetable seedlings within four hours, as opposed to a conventional planter that requires four laborers to achieve the same results. Furthermore, it is portable and easy to operate, manufactured with high-quality steel and equipped to adjust planting depth according to the seeds being worked with.

Another popular creation is the Kamal Kisan Mulch Layer, a tractor-attached device that can lay plastic mulch sheets between three to four feet, covering soil in a single pass.

The mulch layer has reduced labour requirements from six to just two laborers, while completing the laying of one acre of mulch film within three hours.

The first-of-its-kind Sugarcane Planter has also received positive reviews.

The device combines three processes - ridging, planting and furrowing - to increase efficiency and has reduced the time required to plant a one-acre area to just three hours. Moreover, it mimics current planting methods and easily be can be used with small tractors with powers as low as 30 HP.

Apart from these, the company is researching two new products and is soon to launch a mini rice mill.

"I just have one message," says Devi in conclusion."There is huge opportunity in this field and more and more people should come forward to use their skills to help our farmers."

For more information on the products please log on to www.kamalkisan.com

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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This Electrical Engineer and IIM Alumnus Is Now Helping Small Farmers with Her Innovations

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Engineer and business graduate Devi Murthy identified growing difficulties faced by small-scale Indian farmers. A majority of agrarian workers in the country were finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with rising labour costs, but were unable to mechanise their cultivation processes because imported farm equipment was unsuitable to their modest farm sizes.

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Awesome inventions that make India proud

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Awesome inventions that make India proud

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How Surat became khubsurat from badsurat - a transformation

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How Surat became khubsurat from badsurat - a transformation

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We need smart energy solutions that provide reliable and affordable electricity, contribute to a strong economy, and do not compromise our health or our climate.

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Temparature Bags - Using plastic waste to make hot meals

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Temparature Bags - Using plastic waste to make hot meals

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From plastic waste to hot meals | DW | 23.12.2016

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A Zimbabwean startup is tackling plastic waste by recycling it into a product that also helps save energy. They've developed Temperature Bags, which allow food to keep cooking after being warmed briefly on the stove.

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Living Planet: Cooking with trash in Kenya | DW | 15.09.2016

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Waste disposal is one of the major challenges in large African cities. But in one Nairobi slum, some guardian angels have come up with a solution that gets rid of the trash - and provides hot food for locals, at the same time.

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by Keiren 725 Views

Americans threw away 33 million tons of plastic in 2013, according to the EPA. How long does it take a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill? Some say 500 years, some say 1,000. Plastic hasn't been around long enough. We (in our lifetime) will never know how long today's petroleum-based plastic bottles take to break down in the environment. But we can do something with them while they're around.

Plastic Bottle Homes Around the World

eco-tecnologia.com

How To Help? Buy A Reusable Water Bottle

The best thing, of course, would be to stop using plastic water bottles completely. We recommend these eco-friendly, reusable water bottles.

physorg.com

sites.google.com

Morimoto Restaurant's bottle wall in NYC is composed of 17,400 half liter plastic bottles filled with mineral water and then backlit with LED lights.

Plastic Bottle Greenhouses

Plastic Bottle House Innovations

Ecological House: Constructed with 8,000 bottles with composting toilets and a solar water heating system. The green roof can weigh 30 tons when wet and has been supported by the walls without any extra reinforcement. It is the first house in the world made from PET bottles without using cement in the walls.

Tomislav Radovanic, a retired math professor from central Serbia has built a house of waste plastic. "The house is comfortable and it practically cost me nothing," Radovanovic said, adding that the bottles are good insulators. The foundation is concrete but all else is plastic; gutters, windows and furniture are made from recycled bottles. Freerepublic.com

Eco Tec's Sky Field House: The first vaulted ceiling using PET bottles.

All Eco-tec projects have a strong social focus. Most of the PET bottles used are recovered in clean-up campaigns and recycling drives. The community then fills them with sand. They train the unemployed and handicapped in their construction methods. They build water tanks, schools, community centers, urban benches as well as homes. Andreas Froese, Eco-Tec's inventor hopes to also build some PET homes in Haiti utilizing construction debris. Most of the PET bottles used are recovered in clean-up campaigns and recycling drives. ( www.eco-tecnologia.com)

Ecological Bottle House, near the Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina.

Alfredo Santa Cruz and his family built this house and matching play house out of used plastic bottles, Tetra Packs and CD cases. They used 1200 PET plastic bottles for the walls, 1300 milk and wine Tetra Pack boxes for the roof, 140 CD cases for the doors and windows, plus 320 PET bottles for the furniture. ( sites.google.com)

Taiwan's plastic bottle building: EcoARK Exhibition Hall.

Not just a bottle picked off the street. Polli-Brick from Minimize is made from recycled PET bottles. The building can be disassembled and then reassembled elsewhere. Looks like that might take a bit of time though as the building is 279 feet long.

Plastic Bottle Houses Under Construction

How To Build A Plastic Bottle House

Plastic Bottle House Videos

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by Keiren 725 Views Americans threw away 33 million tons of plastic in 2013, according to the EPA. How long does it take a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill? Some say 500 years, some say 1,000. Plastic hasn't been around long enough.

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By Spooky on December 6th, 2016 Category: News

In an effort to combat plastic pollution, Indian startup EnviGreen has come up with a combination of natural starch and vegetable oils that looks and feels just like plastic, but is 100 percent organic, biodegradable and eco-friendly. You can even dispose of such a "plastic" bag by eating it.

EnviGreen founder Ashwath Hedge came up with the idea for these revolutionary bags after seeing people struggling to find alternatives to plastic bags, following bans imposed by several Indian cities. "People were concerned bout how they would carry products from the market now. Everyone cannot afford a bag worth Rs. 5 or Rs. 15 to carry a kilogram of sugar," he told The Better India. So the 25-year-old decided to work on something that would solve this problem while being environment-friendly.

Hedge spent four years researching and experimenting with various materials, but one day he discovered a combination of 12 ingredients, including potato, tapioca, corn, natural starch, vegetable oil, banana, and flower oil, that looked and felt like plastic, but posed none of the environmental problems. The manufacturing process is obviously a closely-guarded secret, but the young entrepreneur did reveal that the raw materials are first converted into liquid form, and then taken through a six-stage process to create the bags.

The cost of an EnviGreen bag is about 35% higher than that of a plastic bag, but the benefits of using the former are more than worth the extra cost. Once discarded, EnviGreen bags biodegrade naturally in less than 180 days, and if placed in water at room temperature, they dissolve in less than a day. For quick disposal, they can be placed in boiling water, and they dissolve in about 15 seconds.

"We don't use any chemicals at all. Even the paint used for printing on the bags is natural and organic," Ashwath boasts. That not only means that users can discard them without hurting the environment, but also that animals can safely ingest them. In fact, EnviGreen "plastic" bags are edible, something that Hedge was more than happy to demonstrate in his interview with The Better India. He simply soaked a bag in water and gulped it down with a smile on his face.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has already approved EnviGreen bags for commercial use, but not before conducting a series of tests. They found that despite their appearance and texture, they contain no plastic, and don't share its hazardous properties. When burned, the innovative material does not melt, drip, or release any toxic fumes.

EnviGreen has set up a factory in Bangalore, where it produces around 1,000 metric tonnes of eco-friendly "plastic" bags a month. That's not very much, considering that the city of Bangalore alone consumes over 30,000 metric tonnes of plastic bags every month, but Hedge claims that he wants to set up enough production facilities before they start distributing to individual customers and shop owners. They have however started supplying the bags to corporate retail chains like Metro and Reliance.

Apart from protecting the environment, Ashwath Hedge also plans to use EnviGreen bags to support local farmers. "We had this unique idea of empowering farmers in rural Karnataka by sourcing all our raw materials from them," he said. "We are also planning to distribute seeds to help them produce the amount of materials required to make the bags."

According to the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, over 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India every day, only 9,000 of which are collected and processed. Inventions like EnviGreen can help solve this problem, so let's hope it lives up to its potential.
Photos: The Better India

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