Conserve is a
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
(NGO) launched in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
in 1998 by husband and wife Shalabh and
Anita Ahuja.
Inception
In 1998, when the Delhi government launched the
Bhagidari campaign, asking its citizens to participate in civic initiatives, the
conservationist, Anita Ahuja and her IIT-alumna husband Shalabh rose to the challenge and launched Conserve. With a seed grant from the
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible f ...
(USAID), the duo began advocating waste management through seminars and workshops.
Conserve started in the living room of some of Anita Ahuja's friends who were taking up issues like sewage and garbage. In synergy with the local
Resident Welfare Association A resident welfare association (frequently abbreviated as RWA) is a Non-governmental organization that represents the interests of the residents of a specific urban or suburban locality, particularly in Indian cities.
Membership
Membership is ...
s (RWA), the Ahujas would also collect the waste of several colonies in a park and then segregate it. Wet kitchen waste would be converted into compost while dry refuse like polythene bags would be put aside.
That project didn't quite work but led her to the idea of doing something about plastic bags.
Over the next two years Ahuja experimented with recycling the bags. She tried weaving them together to create a tarpaulin-like covering for the shacks of slum dwellers. Another time she tried pasting pieces of the polyethylene onto canvas and cardboard. She saw that a thicker fabric could be used to make bric-a-brac like pen holders and file folders, and realized she'd finally found a successful recipe when her homemade products were popular at a fair at the U.S. embassy in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
. She decided to venture into accessories.
Ahuja’s project has created employment for scores of underprivileged people and also become a solution for solving the problem of
plastic waste
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categ ...
.
The range has now been extended to creating footwear, cushions, jewellery, lamps, boxes and books.
Recognition
In August 2018 Power Brands awarded Anita Ahuja the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar for her tireless efforts to protect our planet and all forms of life in it through her innovation – “handmade recycled plastic” – which will not only stall our hurtling march towards an “environmental holocaust”, but also make plastics - a high end fashion material.
References
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Environmental organisations based in India