It’s a remarkable time in India. Our cities and villages are progressing and prospering economically and socially. This blog brings stories from three of these places. These are indeed examples to follow and celebrate.
- A crime-free village in Maharashtra
Anandwadi village in Maharashtra’s Latur district seems no different from most villages in the country to a casual onlooker. But extraordinary, it truly is. Here is why:
- Nearly every single home in this little village is owned in the name of a woman. This decision was taken collectively by the whole village in a gram sabha meeting. Nyanoba Chame, one of the members of the gram sabha, spoke to the Times of India, noting that this move was taken in a bid to counter a patriarchal mindset. She said, “Like we bring the goddess Laxmi to our house every Diwali, we decided to honour our ‘Laxmis’ (wives/daughters) by taking this decision. Women shouldn’t feel the need to be dependent on anyone since they run the home. Why shouldn’t they also own it? This will also help to get rid of the patriarchal mindset of people.”
- In addition, this village is also crime free. There hasn’t been a single police case lodged in the past 15 years.
- More than 410 residents of the village have also pledged to become organ donors. because of that, in order to ensure the good health of its residents, the village has successfully banned smoking and tobacco as well. Isn’t this incredible!?
Article source: The Better India. Read the full piece here.
- A city committed to going green in small, effective ways
Some time ago, Hyderabad dweller, civil engineer and management graduate Manvitha Reddy found herself questioning the urban lifestyle. Tackling the problem of organic food and green gardens, she realised “that people were willing to pay 4-5 times more for organic food, but there was no authentication of whether the food was organic or not.”
Her mother introduced her to a solution called ‘Organoponics’, a Cuban method of growing green and planting one’s own vegetables in small, cramped spaces. Even rooftops.
Today, Manveena’s venture, that offers urban farming units, measuring 15 sq ft, can be set up to grow a variety of regular and exotic vegetables and herbs. They have already covered more than 400 st ft of rooftops and are soon expanding to multiple gated communities in the region. She also educates people through one-on-one sessions and social media interactions.
Article source: The Better India. Read the full piece here.
- Inclusive playgrounds for children in Mumbai, Rajkot, Lucknow and Sonepat
Playgrounds – such a fundamental need! We can’t imagine our childhoods without them. However, not all playgrounds are designed in an inclusive fashion, especially for special children.
Tackling this problem head on are two graduates of NID, Ahmedabad. In college, Aditi Agrawal and Anjali Menon took a course called Design for Special Needs, which required them to frequently visit a school run by the Blind People’s Association (BPA).
During these visits, they would sit through the classes and observe their teaching methodology. It was then they realised that while visually-impaired children had many activities to undertake within their classrooms, they seldom got the opportunity to go out and experience playing outdoors.
From this experience, their venture, Gudgudee was born. Gudgudeeis about designing play experiences that were inclusive in nature, where children of all abilities could play. They integrate sensory elements like tactile and sounds in their play spaces.
Their playgrounds are now schools of cities like Mumbai, Rajkot, Lucknow and Sonepat.
Article source: The Better India. Read the full piece here.
It is amazing to see what active citizens in cities and villages can do. There’s so much to learn from them! Desh Apnayen salutes all these communities of people working tirelessly to create change. If you have come across a similar story, please share it as a comment to this blog.
Let’s learn and grow from these experiences and make our cities and villages great.