How it started!
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.
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.
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.
Sunheri Mitti: Soil, Sustainability and Life
Do you know what would happen without soil? No vegetation, No trees, No oxygen, No carbon dioxide, No food, No humans.
Soil is requisite for agriculture. The food we consume, the fruits and vegetables are all nourished by soil. Originally soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. But with human activities, a lot of chemicals have deposited in the soil hindering the rich biodiversity. Chemical used in industries and agriculture, untreated water, acidic rains, leachate from landfills and more find their way to the land and are responsible for degraded soil.
Why should we bother? Is there any connection of degraded and polluted soil with humans? Yes, Soil is the medium of growing food which we consume. Where chemicals in soil are due to direct use, leachate is a result of the waste we generate in our daily life. Reducing any of these would lead to healthier soil and life forms.
Sunheri Mitti started as an initiative which aimed to promote sustainable living by promoting various activities around soil health like kitchen waste composting and kitchen gardening, waste segregation, waste management and proper disposal, sustainability education etc. Gradually, we started helping organizations design and implement practical sustainability solutions.
Check out our composting section for all the composting information on how to start kitchen waste composting and manage your own waste responsibly. We will be working on adding more sections to bring in larger perspective of environment sustainability in our platform.
Idea behind the Name