Guest AuthorBJP National Leader Ms Karuna Gopal Vartakavi in partnership with the IMPACT HUB, a global network of innovators and entrepreneurs, organized a workshop ‘ECO DIVAS’ to empower women through eco-friendly diya making, today at Nagole, Hyderabad. The main objective of the workshop was to bring awareness on the significance of Gomaya Diyas among women and society at large. In recent years, the concept of a “CIRCULAR ECONOMY“ has gained significant attention due to its potential to reduce waste, conserve resources, and promote sustainable practices. The idea of using cow dung to create Diyas can contribute to a circular economy while simultaneously empowering women through entrepreneurship.
Impact Hub Hyderabad’s visionary founding team, Dr Nagaraja Sallagundala and Ms Jyoshna Reddy, witnessed their dream come to life. Ms Karuna Gopal, a distinguished thought leader and the Founder President of the Foundation for Future Cities, shared her insights on the importance of sustainable practices as Chief Guest.
The “Eco-Divas” event unfolded as an empowering and sustainable journey, attracting a gathering of over 100 women. The most remarkable aspect of the Workshop was the presence of elderly women including a 73 year old, joining youngsters barely in their teens, the youngest participant was 11 years old.
Ms Karuna Gopal who represented India at COP21 (UNFCCC) where the SDGs were announced, shared the relevance of this event in the context of Sustainable Development Goals – she said “Panchagavya” five cow-derivatives consisting of three direct constituents like cow urine, dung, milk, curd and ghee have enormous environmental and health benefits. Cow dung contains around twenty-four minerals like potassium, nitrogen, fewer quantities of sulphur, calcium, magnesium, manganese, cobalt etc.
Cow dung is important in preservation of the environment as the atmospheric temperature is balanced when the cow dung is burnt. Moreover Cow dung controls the radioactive rays and also the heat impact of the environment. It has antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-insect, anti-oxidant properties and can be used as a remedy for skin disorders. When used as manure, the soils mineral content is increased, resulting in enhancing the resisting power of trees and plants attacked by the pests and other diseases.
The diyas made from Cow Dung and Nirmalya (flower waste) can be used as organic manure for gardens after the festival and so to some extent it also tries to tackle the problem of waste generated after Diwali as cow-dung can be easily mixed with the soil while the regular clay lamps take months to dissolve.”
Ms Gopal added that ‘Gomaya Diyas’ are decorated using plant-based colours and are 100 per cent compostable. Artificial dyes are becoming a major water pollutant in India, while the traditional terracotta lamps require baking that results in high levels of gaseous emissions. These lamps not only help save fertile land but also helps extra spillage of dung to rivers.
Quoting an initiative ‘ARTH‘ by the Students of IIT-Delhi along with Enactus an American organization, she said that the project has prevented 173 tonnes of emissions from pottery furnace. Earlier, the project designed clean-energy biomass ‘logs’ an eco-friendly alternate to wooden logs made of cow dung to avoid deforestation and reduce air pollution caused during cremations. It is estimated that the project will prevent the escape of around 2.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and 4,500 tonnes of methane and generate around £4 million in wages for the local economy, in next two years.”
Martin Stoehr, founder and Managing Director of Impact Hub Leipzig, virtually joined the event, offering a global perspective on Impact Hub’s transformative initiatives. He extended his heartfelt congratulations to Impact Hub Hyderabad for this exceptional initiative and shared the impact of sustainable practices on local communities, expressing his greeting with a warm “namaste.”
Aravind Sundaram
Guest Author
