From September to November, the pollution in North India is so severe that 15 of its cities ranked among the world’s top 20 most polluted in 2020. This is mostly due to crop stubble burning, a practice that involves farmers destroying crop residue between rice harvests, and extensive use of Thermocol packaging. Pollution has an inordinate impact on those living in poverty, posing severe health threats such as a heightened risk of lung or heart disease.

Indian entrepreneur Arpit Dhupar presented a solution to India’s pollution when he established Dharaksha Ecosystems in 2020. The organization’s name, which combines the Hindi words “Dhara” (earth) and “Raksha” (saving), summarizes its mission: “to save the earth from pollution.”

A Gray Sky

A graduate of mechanical engineering, Dhupar was inspired partly by an early initiative to recycle diesel smoke into reusable material. While working on the project, he visited many agricultural villages across the country, which raised his awareness of the pollution caused by crop stubble burning.

He learned that villagers felt the effects of burning much worse than those in the city. Living near the fields meant close exposure to the “highly toxic” smoke laden with hazardous chemicals. Furthermore, this smoke can ruin the organic content of local farmers’ soil.

However, Dhupar discovered that there was no crop stubble burning in Peva, a region of India that, significantly, contains a paper mill. There, rather than burning it, crop stubble residue is used to create craft paper, the raw material for cardboard. This sparked the idea that led to Dharaksha Ecosolutions. As Dhupar explained, “If we can create packaging out of crop stubble waste that can eliminate plastic and Thermocol from the market, it will be a great synergy.”

What is Thermocol?

Thermocol is a non-biodegradable material that is responsible for much of the world’s plastic pollution. It is common in everyday products like disposable plates, food containers, coffee cups and decorations. Primarily, however, Thermocol is used in packaging. A form of polystyrene, it is lightweight, shock-absorbent and versatile. Unfortunately, these benefits do not outweigh Thermocol’s damaging effects on the planet.

Most discarded Thermocol ends up in landfills and flows into rivers and oceans. The alternative, which is incineration, produces “toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and about 90 different hazardous chemicals” that can harm the eyes and nervous system.

Although Thermocol is 100% recyclable, the process is very expensive and not economically feasible. Composed of 95% air, it does not generate viable income for waste pickers who “sell their waste to kabadiwalas by weight, not volume.” Thus, Thermocol poses an ongoing environmental threat that begs for a solution.

India’s Solution to Pollution

The aim of Dharaksha Ecosolutions “is to curb stubble burning and plastic pollution by creating biodegradable and sustainable alternatives.” Dhupar and his team found their solution in a material that could reduce crop stubble burning and replace Thermocol.

Dhupar devised this solution using mushrooms. He found that mixing rice crop waste with mushrooms would break down and convert the waste into a biodegradable foam, developing an efficient packaging material. Additionally, while non-biodegradable materials decompose over hundreds of years, Dhupar’s material decomposes in just 60 days.

Producing such material on a mass scale requires collaboration, hard work and a factory. The factory is capable of converting 250 metric tons of rice stubble into usable packaging. The stubble comes from 100 acres of land in Punjab and Haryana, with the farmers who provide it now earning $30 per acre for something they used to previously burn.

A Blue Sky

“We feel we can disrupt the problem of plastic pollution and at the same time solve the problem of crop stubble waste burning,” Dhupar explained. His mission to turn India’s sky blue is well underway. Since innovating the new material, Dharaksha Ecosolutions has:

• Prevented more than half a million pounds of polystyrene from entering landfills.
• Produced 0.8 tonnes of packaging material per every tonne of crop stubble waste.
• Been named one of The 30 Most Promising Indian Startups of 2022.

But Dhupar’s work is not done. His future plans for Dharaksha Ecosolutions include:

• Extending his material use to furniture construction would help reduce deforestation and “lock the CO2 for the next 25 years,” marking “the biggest carbon sequestration anywhere in the world.”
• Creating a distributed manufacturing process model to help source material locally and deliver it to corporations.
• Eliminating 25% of crop stubble burning in the next five years and 90% in the subsequent three years.

Aware that part of the solution to pollution starts at home, Dhupar is also a strong advocate for adopting an environmentally conscious lifestyle. He drives electric vehicles, recycles all his plastic and is working to convert all his food waste into compost. He noted, “Say what you believe in and do what you say. If there is a disconnect between those two, there is no meaning in doing anything in life.”

Acknowledging his work, the United Nations (U.N.) named Dhupar the 2018 Young Champion of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific Region, and Forbes named him one of 2018’s “30 Under 30” social entrepreneurs.

The Future

Air and plastic pollution in India are severe problems that pose dire health threats to the population, particularly those living in poverty. However, Arpit Dhupar is working to ensure that his “interventions have an impact in the real world.” At the forefront of India’s solution to pollution, Dhupar and Dharaksha Ecosolutions are inspiring hope for a brighter and bluer future for India.

Artisan work is a significant source of employment in the developing world, particularly in South Asia, where it makes up a significant proportion of the workforce. South Asian artisans practice skilled trades using traditional methods and locally sourced materials, and this enables them to perpetuate their culture through their craft.

However, the monthly income of artisans can vary greatly due to factors such as fluctuating tourist flows, lack of access to online commerce and lack of regulation to protect their businesses and wages. These issues have stunted the potential of artisanal work to generate employment and boost incomes globally. Despite being the second-largest employer in the developing world after agriculture, the artisan sector remains largely untapped in terms of its economic development potential. Addressing these issues and promoting the growth of the artisan sector could have significant economic benefits, both for individual artisans and for their countries as a whole.

Artisans are victims of the volatility of the tourism market. In fact, tourists make up the majority of buyers, which further destabilizes the income of artisans, as the number of tourists varies greatly between the high and low seasons. This forces artisans to work several jobs in order to make ends meet, and many are giving up the trade in search of more stable sources of income. The United Nations (U.N.) estimates that 30% of artisans in India have left the trade in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accentuated this phenomenon, putting many more artisans out of work.

A Lack of Regulation Around Artisanal Professions

The volatility of tourism impacts artisans because it is not counterbalanced by stability. Across the globe, no laws specifically pertaining to artisans’ income and taxation, and they receive no legal protections against exploitative loans or partners. Consequently, approximately 95% of artisan businesses globally do not benefit from a set minimum wage, and most are compensated on a piece-rate rather than hour-rate basis.

Artisans, especially the ones living further away from big cities, are vulnerable to unregulated middlemen who try to reach more buyers. However, in many cases, the middlemen illicitly profit from the artisans’ work, further hindering their growth.

The lack of regulation also prevents the impact of artisans from being reflected on the national market, as sales go unrecorded due to the informal nature of the artisanal trade. A case in point is India where approximately 200 million people participate in the artisan economy, with 90% operating in the informal landscape.

Challenges and Potential of Women Artisans

Women make up approximately three-fourths of artisans worldwide, and over half of artisans in South Asia. Craft-based work provides a unique opportunity for women in South Asia, many of whom are unable to work outside the home due to deeply entrenched patriarchal norms and family care responsibilities. Women artisans invest 90% of their earnings back into their families, a significantly higher percentage than the 35% invested by men.

However, due to a prioritization of extensive practical training in their craft, poverty and various other factors, 90% of Indian women artisans have no formal education. Thus, despite their specialized skills, craftswomen’s incomes are very similar to those of unskilled workers. In India, the average income for an artisan ranges from just $3.40 to $4.50 a day in cities and $0.89 in rural India, whereas the minimum wage for an unskilled worker is $3.60 a day.

Solutions for Progress

For the craft industry to thrive, there is a need to empower artisans in a way that allows them to make a decent living out of their work. With this aim, the Ethik Collective created an online marketplace connecting artisans with stable business partnerships worldwide. The Collective thus works with artisans, mostly women entrepreneurs, to allow them to expand their business beyond the local market. Since its creation three years ago, the collective has supported 2,696 artisans providing for 10,595 family members. Their initiative helps create consistent work, allowing artisans to stabilize their income and invest in long-term livelihood assets.

The Business, Enterprise and Employment Support for Women in South Asia (BEES), a network set up between South Asian countries and the World Bank, also empowers South Asian artisans by providing them with capacity building, technical and financial assistance and new market opportunities. The network allows women artisans to hone important skills such as product development or marketing, contributing to the craft industry’s survival.

Looking Ahead

South Asian artisans play a vital role in preserving cultural heritage and are an essential source of employment. However, they face many challenges, such as instability caused by fluctuating tourist flows, lack of access to online commerce and a lack of regulation to protect their businesses and wages. These unresolved issues have hindered the potential of artisanal work to contribute to the economic development of their countries. Solutions such as Ethik Collective’s marketplace or BEES enable artisans to expand their businesses and stabilize their incomes while preserving their cultural heritage. Supporting and empowering artisans could have a positive impact on communities and, more broadly, the economies of developing countries. Such possibilities highlight the importance of addressing the instability of South Asian artisans.

– Hanna Bernard
Photo: Flickr

Indigenous poverty in Canada is a generational problem that has lowered living standards and created wide gaps in financial security and literacy. Indigenous populations still experience disproportionately high rates of poverty, despite multiple initiatives and legislation designed to reduce such gaps. In the Canadian Constitution, three distinct groups of Indigenous peoples are officially recognized: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The poorest Canadians are those of Indigenous descent. In Canada, one in four Indigenous people and four in 10 Indigenous children face poverty.

Intergenerational Trauma within Indigenous Communities

Indigenous communities in Canada have long been victims of colonial policies that suppress their cultural identity and assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Western culture through the residential school system. The accumulation of profound intergenerational distress and trauma has persisted and compounded over time, transmitting across successive generations within kinship groups and becoming entrenched within Indigenous families across Canada. Intergenerational trauma faced by the Indigenous population in Canada has resulted in the manifestation of various symptoms, including anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Addressing these challenges has proven to be a challenging task for mental health professionals in Canada. At the community level, there is a need to recognize the impact of colonization, allocate resources to community-based initiatives in Indigenous reserves and continue promoting reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

The Remoteness of Indigenous Communities

The responsibility over Indigenous reserves lies with the federal government of Canada. Indigenous reserves are mostly in isolated northern Canadian provinces and territories. Due to their distance, these communities have difficulties acquiring basic resources, including food, shelter and education, which are more expensive than in southern communities. In some communities, employment opportunities are few.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) works to enhance First Nations, Inuit and Métis services. The mission of the ISC is to facilitate the self-sufficiency of Indigenous communities in delivering essential services and addressing socio-economic circumstances within their respective communities. At present, the federal government endeavors to formulate measures aimed at promoting the provision of clean water on reserves. It also established helplines for mental health services and implements non-insured health benefits.

Systemic Discrimination and Institutional Racism

Institutional racism and prejudice increase Indigenous poverty in Canada. Justice, health care and job discrimination restrict resources and opportunities. The 2017 to 2018 Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator revealed a concerning surge in Indigenous imprisonment. The proportion of Indigenous federal prisoners rose from 20% in 2008 to 2009 to 28% in 2017 to 2018. Despite experiencing higher victimization rates, Indigenous individuals are not inherently more prone to committing crimes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The 2019 GSS reported that Indigenous people faced 33% higher discrimination than non-Indigenous and non-visible minority individuals.

The government initiative Budget 2021 allocated $126.7 million over 3 years to combat anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s health systems. Among the initiatives is the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations First Nations Health Ombudsperson Office. Advocates from this agency work with patients and families to address systemic concerns with federal and provincial health institutions. They also assist in identifying solutions to address conflicts and concerns, ultimately leading to improvements in the overall system.

Educational Barriers

Indigenous peoples suffer lifelong educational hurdles. Colonialism, marginalization, poor education in reserves and limited finance create these impediments. Indigenous peoples struggle with regard to education due to little educational financing, especially in rural locations with few schools and programs. Nearly half of Indigenous reserve residents in Ontario lack a high school diploma. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada currently conducts youth employment, job experience and skills development programs. These initiatives finance First Nations and Inuit post-secondary students. These programs try to overcome educational inequities and improve employability for Indigenous students, yet weak educational systems in Indigenous communities perpetuate economic instability and poverty.

The Long-Term Consequences of Residential Schools

From the 17th century through the late 1990s, Canada ran Indigenous residential schools. These Christian-run institutions aimed to eradicate Indigenous culture and incorporate children into Euro-Western civilization. Survivors and their descendants continue to suffer from emotional trauma and loss of language, culture and mental well-being after the closure of residential schools. The Canadian government has often apologized to Indigenous people for residential school abuse and Pope Benedict apologized to the Assembly of First Nations’ National Chief in 2009 for Indigenous people’s suffering in residential schools. Additionally, many Indigenous people suffer from substance abuse to deal with mental health issues caused by the residential school system. The 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement created the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program to assist Indigenous communities in coping with emotional trauma. Former students of residential schools may seek cultural and emotional assistance through the program’s crisis hotlines fostering a positive outlet.

Looking Ahead

Indigenous poverty in Canada persists due to a variety of circumstances, including residential institutions, educational challenges, isolation on Indigenous reservations, racial conflicts and the long-term repercussions of intergenerational trauma. Nonetheless, there are positive indicators (due to ongoing effort) of improvement in these communities in terms of reconciliation, empowerment and inclusion.

– Valentina Ornelas
Photo: Flickr

Lake Victoria is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, neighboring Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. With nearly 40 million people living nearby, the fisheries of the lake are a critical source of food and income for a significant number of East Africans. However, the introduction of invasive species and severe pollution all took a great toll on the ecology of Lake Victoria and reduced its fishing output, endangering the livelihood and food security of residents. Between 2016 and 2020, around 10,000 fishers stopped fishing in Lake Victoria, and the number of fishing boats and nets also showed an overall declining trend. Therefore, more work is needed to shore up aquaculture in Lake Victoria.

Troubled Waters of Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria has always been home to a very diverse ecosystem of freshwater species, many of them exclusively found there. Only 21.8% of the fish species in Lake Victoria exist elsewhere in the world. However, this ecosystem is highly fragile and endangered due to a number of reasons.

To begin with, several invasive foreign species damaged the local ecosystem. The Nile Perch was introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s with the intention to boost fish production, but it rapidly disrupted the entire food chain of the lake and drove local cichlid fish species to near extinction.

Water hyacinth is another invasive species that has a highly negative impact on both the ecosystem and the livelihoods of locals in Lake Victoria. Locals believe that European colonists brought it as a decorative plant due to the beauty of its flowers. However, it is also capable of rapidly growing and covering a wide portion of water bodies in a short period of time. Not only is this disruptive for boat traffic, but the plant also depletes the oxygen from the water and prevents sunlight from reaching into the lake.

Pollution is another major threat to Lake Victoria’s ecosystem. Untreated sewage, industrial waste and unsustainable land development all contribute to the degradation of water quality, which also worsens other problems such as the aforementioned water hyacinth growth.

Victory Farms

Victory Farms is a Kenya-based aquaculture startup that aims to develop sustainable fish farms in Lake Victoria. Its mission statement, according to its website, is to “tackle the challenges of rapidly declining wild fish catch in Lake Victoria, rising populations and undernourishment… while also working toward becoming the most sustainable fish farm on the planet.”

The startup produces tilapia, a popular fish in the aquaculture industry. Due to its omnivorous diet, rapid growth and resilience, it can thrive in a wide range of environments and suits well for fish farms. Victory Farms exclusively uses native tilapia species from government-certified hatcheries.

It also maintains a cold chain distribution network for their fish with a total of 84 stores across Kenya as of 2023, providing reliable access of tilapia to Kenyans. Kenyan President William Ruto also recognized Victory Farms as “the fastest growing aquaculture business” in sub-Saharan Africa.

Looking Ahead

Lake Victoria’s importance to the livelihoods of East Africans makes it crucial that efforts toward sustainable aquaculture continue. The ecosystem of the lake should be preserved for the fishing industry to continue thriving and the approach of Victory Farms is a step in the right direction.

– Junoh Seo
Photo: Flickr