HCLTech Grant Recipients

35

Making the oceans cleaner for the benefit of humanity and marine life both

Stories of Impact

Estuary in Pallipuram Panchayath, Vembanad Lake, Kerala

Collectively referred to as backwaters, the Vembanad Lake (the longest in India) includes

many estuaries with shallow brackish waters that are breeding grounds for fish and

crustaceans. Poiyyil is one such, where due to the tides, huge volumes of plastic wash up along

the shore line. It becomes especially difficult for marginalized inland fishermen who practice

sustainable fishing methods using fishing lines to navigate these waters and reach a landing.

As a solution to this, on International Coastal Clean Up Day, the Panchayath joined hands

with Plan@Earth under Project DROP funded by HCLFoundation and cleared out all plastic

trash and other waste from Poiyyil.

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still learning, and it has helped us improve in

our performance particularly in submitting

reports and answering queries. Funding

agencies have started regarding us in a more

positive light and new project invitations are

coming in. When an organization becomes

part of a programme like the HCLTech Grant

with its multiple rounds of due diligence,

it highlights the various ‘weaknesses and

pitfalls

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that need addressing for long-term

existence and growth.

The Impact of the HCLTech Grant

RELEVANCE:

Protection of water bodies,

recovery of ocean plastic, protection of

wetlands especially a Ramsar site like

Vembanad Lake.

INNOVATION:

Roping in the fishing boats

and fishermen to collect plastic from the

ocean. e invasive waterweed, water

hyacinth, made into biomass briquettes is a

first for India and probably the first time in

the world on an industrial scale.

SCALABILITY/REPLICABILITY:

DROP can

be done in every fishing harbour. Removal

of water weed and converting into biomass

briquettes can be replicated anywhere.

SUSTAINABILITY:

In Project VMF, the

income from sale of briquettes goes

back into the project to run the workers’

collective that operates the unit. Integrating

with the government’s waste management

initiative helps to sustain the DROP project.

FINANCIAL MODELLING:

Empowering

workers’ collectives to manage funds and

ensure that incomes go back into the project

INCLUSION:

More than 50 per cent of the

workforce are financially backward women,

migrant workers and soon, special needs

people for the upcycling. Marginalized fisher

and farmer communities are beneficiaries

of the project..