;
j GReen HeROeS
RaGpIckeRS OR
city savers? From the nGO acor grows this vst ok tree of solce d respectbility for hudreds of rgpickers of Dhrvi, Mumbi hdlig the city’s toxic wste. sugaa M meets vinod meets vinod shetty, the m behid acor
134 I june 2010
Vinod Shetty is the founder of NGO Acorn which stands strong and proud on four R’s. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Respect. Yes, respect for the ragpickers who are the one of the main instruments in the process of recycling of the city’s dumps. According to Vinod, “Mumbai generates 10,000 tonnes of waste, if it were not for the ragpickers who pick, segregate and recycle this waste, the whole of Mumbai would have been one dumpyard!” Commendable work, but kachra is a bad word in our inod Shetty is the
society and anyone dealing in it is
kind of person
looked down upon, and this is where
you wish you were! He is doing what you wished you were doing…only you lack his commitment and passion for a cause and
the fourth R of respect for Acorn’s ragpickers comes comes from. A majority of the ragpickers are from Dharavi, after spending the entire day combing the city’s lthiest spots to gather waste, they all congregate at Dharavi, where the
that’s what separates us
world’s largest recycling unit is located
ordinary beings who only
and where 80 per cent of the dry waste
think of doing something
is reused.
for the underprivileged from the extraordinary people who put their
environMent protectors
money, time and life where their
Vinod is an advocate advocate by profession who
heart is!
runs Acorn for almost two years now.
vinod shetty at an acorn event
e G I D a M a R k I v : H p a R G O t O H p
june 2010 I 135
;
j GReen HeROeS
This foundation trains the ragpickers in
interactive interactive bond between the ragpickers
scientic methods of waste handling,
and school students.”
segregation and recycling. Vinod who has been an activist for more than
on the agenda
25 years took up the cause of the
What’s on the agenda of demands from
ragpickers as a challenge as he felt that
Acorn for the ragpickers? “We want
this section of our society is otherwise
to highlight their contribution to the
invisible as they do not feature in
environment. The government should
surveys and statistics. He observed,
set up a board whereby polluters pay a
the us ambassador to india visits acorn’s waste center
UK had a delightful music workshop
“While studying the ragpickers I realized
cess of about one per cent which can go
for them. The Boxettes Boxettes performance
that they were the poorest of the poor
towards towards giving the ragpickers a proper
was the rst of a 6-day event, Dharavi
both in terms of economic strata as well
income with safety equipment like gloves
Rocks series which aims at bringing the
as they were mainly dalits and Muslims,
and other amenities. They should be
ragpicker community into contact with
a large population were women and
trained in handling toxic waste and have
some of the top international musicians
children, hence I decided that this was
expertise in recycling goods in a non
and celebrities who visit Mumbai. Vinod
the section to work for as they belonged
hazardous way.”
has the last word when he says, “ The
to the unorganized sector.” sector.”
quality of any democracy is the manner
Making it easier
in which we treat our poor. If we want to
Dharavi Project, where all the ragpickers
After spending the entire day collecting
be a global city we as a civil society will
are members of the project and are
waste from the city’s dumps, the
have to set up systems to take care of
given identity cards. They are involved
ragpickers nally come to the Acorn
the vulnerable sections of the society.”
in waste awareness programmes
ofce space, where they are given
and are also partnering with schools
informal education in music, photography photography
in my mailbox, the US ambassador
in waste management. Says Vinod,
and other arts. Many eminent artists
to India is visiting Acorn’s waste
“Since rag pickers don’t use the AC,
like Shankar Mahadevan, Sunita Rao,
segregation center today… paucity of
He has started a project called
As I write this story, a message pops
nor drink mineral water, nor drive SUVs,
Apache Indian and Katrina Kaif have
time doesn’t permit me to go for the
the environmental problem is ours,
participated in such programmes.
event, but I sincerely wish for many more
not theirs. We are trying to create an
Recently Boxettes Boxettes the girl band from
mighty oaks for this Acorn.
136 I june 2010
