Transforming communities through Social Entrepreneurship | Mr. Wasudev Mishra | TEDxAmbazariLake

Summary

The speaker, a social entrepreneur, shares the inspiring story of 'Saligram,' an initiative that addresses hunger and unemployment in rural Maharashtra, India. By upcycling waste fabric from garment factories, they create sustainable livelihoods for local women, transforming their lives and communities. The initiative promotes a circular economy, environmental consciousness, and financial independence, proving that with the right opportunities, individuals can overcome poverty and contribute significantly to society.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The speaker is a social entrepreneur focused on solving global social problems with modern solutions, emphasizing the role of 'young change makers'.
• 🤔 The script starts with a thought-provoking question about hunger, revealing that many people regularly go without food for extended periods in our own communities.
• 🏘️ The speaker hails from a small town called Pulgaon in Maharashtra, India, highlighting the humble beginnings and community context of the initiative.
• 👩‍👧 A personal story about a neighbor's struggle with hunger to afford medical care for her daughter sparks the speaker's journey to find a solution.
• 🔍 An attempt to empathize with hunger by staying hungry for a day leads to the realization of the severity of the issue and motivates action.
• 💡 The initiative 'Saligram' is born out of the desire to help women in the community find livelihoods, starting with cloth bags as an alternative to banned single-use plastics.
• 💧 A revelation about the water-intensive process of manufacturing textiles leads to a reevaluation of the environmental impact of the cloth bag project.
• 👗 An opportunity arises to work with waste fabric from a garment factory, shifting the focus to upcycling and creating a circular economy in rural areas.
• 🛍️ The upcycling center transforms waste fabric into various products, including the speaker's outfit, demonstrating the practical application of the initiative.
• 👩‍💼 The initiative empowers women by providing them with skills, livelihood opportunities, and direct access to financial systems through ethical practices.
• 🌐 The speaker envisions a system-level change through the circular economy model, aiming to make rural communities sustainable and self-reliant.
• 🤝 The script concludes with a call to action for change makers to join hands in implementing such solutions to tackle global issues like poverty and unemployment.

Q & A

What is the primary role of a social entrepreneur according to the speaker?

A social entrepreneur's primary role is to solve global level social problems with modern solutions, aiming to bring societal change and often referred to as young change makers.

What motivated the speaker to start the initiative called Saligram?

The speaker was motivated to start Saligram after learning about a woman in their neighborhood who went hungry for five days to save money for her daughter's hospital bills, and realizing the hunger problem in their own community.

What is the speaker's hometown and what community did they grow up in?

The speaker comes from a small town called Pulgaon in the Wardha District of Maharashtra state, and was brought up in a humble community.

What was the initial idea behind the Saligram initiative?

The initial idea behind Saligram was to create cloth bags as an alternative to single-use plastics, which were recently banned in Maharashtra, to provide livelihood opportunities for women in the community.

How did the speaker's mother contribute to the Saligram initiative?

The speaker's mother contributed by training the women in the community in stitching, beauty parlor courses, and vocational courses for the last 17 years, which became the foundation for the Saligram initiative.

What environmental realization prompted the speaker to reconsider their initiative?

The speaker learned that it takes 17,000 liters of water to manufacture a single t-shirt, which made them question the environmental impact of their cloth bag production and led to a shift in their approach.

What is the concept of a 'circular economy' as it relates to Saligram's work?

The concept of a 'circular economy' in relation to Saligram's work involves using waste fabric from garment factories to create new products, thereby reducing waste and providing a sustainable livelihood for the women involved.

What is the significance of the 'Design Lab' in Saligram's operations?

The 'Design Lab' is a section in Saligram's inventory store where women are enabled to experiment and create new products from the waste fabric, contributing to the innovation of 17 life-helping products.

How does Saligram ensure that the women involved are paid fairly and ethically?

Saligram ensures fair and ethical payment by providing the women with direct access to the financial system, enabling them to receive earnings that meet market standards directly into their bank accounts.

What is the broader vision of Saligram in terms of social and environmental impact?

Saligram's broader vision is to work towards a circular economy model that enables rural communities to become sustainable and self-reliant, with a focus on empowering women and promoting ethical and environmentally friendly practices.

How has the speaker's personal involvement with the women of Saligram influenced their perspective?

The speaker's personal involvement with the women of Saligram has shown them the power of women working together and the individual stories of hardship, culture, and resilience that motivate and inspire the entire initiative.