Hi, I am Anjali Choudhary

I am a compost enthusiast and sustainability practitioner. I got the opportunity to be at the TEDx stage as speaker under the theme 'Food, People and Planet. My passion is to promote sustainable living and started an initiative 'Sunheri Mitti' to guide people in making conscious efforts for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. I am associated with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and FarmBridge Social Support Foundation.

As a kid, not littering around, using resources wisely, not to waste water etc were incorporated in the learning. I practiced those without bothering others. With higher education setting in, participated in activities where being vocal about these issues was required. Since then my efforts for preserving resources only increased.

With all the resources at disposal, I have learnt from my father not to misuse them and to respect them in every form. This practice was instilled deeply and came handy every now and then.

With my professional life, I was closely working at grassroots level, interacting with men and women from farming community. That was the time, I realized climate change was for real. There were real issues about water, temperature, sudden weather events, soil health, water quality. People dwelling in city have never thought of how their actions are impacting the ecosystem. There has been outcry for government actions but there's a strong industrial lobby and individual's choices which drive the market. Only way forward is when people modify their aspirations and re-align them with sustainable living.

I had to contribute in my capacity and adapt to practices which lower my carbon footprint. I have to make conscious choices and see how far can I go. I started composting, saying no to single use plastics, collecting MLPs for recycling, growing food without chemicals, slow fashion, collecting broken glasses, e waste for proper disposal.

With this came the opportunity to write my blogs for a platform on waste management. I wrote about composting and people started following. I conducted few online sessions and people were interested. So, the initiative 'Sunheri Mitti' was floated to bring around themes for sustainable living and reach out to more and more people.