Thenga – a Startup by Maria K to Turn Coconut Shells to Kitchenware

 

 Kerala - ‘the land of coconut trees’ produces almost 45% of India's coconuts, with some 92% of total production lying in the other southern Indian states. This versatile crop is consumed on daily basis in every Keralian household but the shells are often discarded if not used as activated charcoal or burned as a fuel. In earlier days, many of the artisans in Kerala utilized the shells to make ladles for serving food but gradually these products lost their value resulting in fewer and fewer artisans practicing this craft nowadays. As the popularity of these products waned, artisans who made them, have shifted to manufacturing handicrafts and jewelry.

Maria Kuriakose, a business administration post-graduate from Trissur noticed the wastage of the coconut shells when she visited a coconut oil mill in the district. She knew that coconut shell is a sustainable and long-lasting substitute for plastic, particularly for making kitchen items. Unlike steel and plastic kitchenware, this easy to decompose item can be conveniently broken into smaller parts and mixed with soil. To start earning from this waste, she launched a homegrown brand named Thenga, which also means coconut in Malayalam.

After spending seven years in Mumbai for her studies and job, Maria left her corporate job in 2019, as she always wanted to work at a place that empowers the underprivileged. Maria joined a social enterprise that worked with women in slums to make sustainable sanitary pads but a year later decided to settle in her home state - Kerala to dedicate herself to Thenga, her start-up to recycle coconut shells into eco-friendly items of everyday use. She started speaking to artisans and experts who were making its byproducts and spent a few months understanding how the shells were sorted and the final product is made. She realized that coconut shell products require certain machinery to scrub the outer and inner parts of the shell and give it a smooth finish.

Initially, she did not want to spend a lot to run a trial for her new business and could not afford to buy high-end machinery. Her retired father provided help at this phase of her business. Kuriakose Varoo, a 65-year old retired mechanical engineer replicated the design of the standing wheel by going through the design videos on YouTube. Within a few days, he was able to recreate the sanding machines that smoothen the inner and outer parts of the coconut shell. He made different fittings such as a buffer and disc sander by recycling a handheld drill in their home. Her mother, Jolly Kuriakose also helped her by collecting coconut shells of different sizes from their backyard and a nearby oil mill. With her help, Maria started preparing samples of Thenga and approached stores specializing in eco-friendly products.

Once the orders started pouring in, the toughest challenge Maria had to face is finding the right size of shells and make the bowls. Her parents helped all through to complete orders but gradually she felt, it was a hassle to manufacture all the products at home, and wanted to spend time on marketing the business and innovating new products. To find a solution, she reached out to several artisans in Thrissur, Kottayam, and Wayanad who were making ladles from coconut shells. These artisans were still practicing this craft but did other odd jobs too to earn a livelihood. Primarily, 10 artisans were onboarded to sandpaper, varnish, and transform the shells into designer smoothie bowls, planters, candle holders, cups, and cutlery. They take care of sourcing the raw materials too along with Maria because it’s not quite easy to find shells of the right dimension through piles of discarded coconut shells.

The business has sold over 8,000 products to date. By the end of last year, Thenga introduced four sizes of bowl, the smallest one with a capacity of 150 ml priced at Rs. 250 and the largest sized 900 ml priced at Rs. 950. She considered expanding her business after started selling on e-commerce sites, such as Amazon and Flipkart. The startup is currently producing around 15-20 products, which include coconut bowls, spoons, forks, and cups. The brand uses natural products which are free from chemicals for their cutlery. To ensure that her products are zero-waste natural products, Maria has trained her artisans to use coconut oil as a substitute for varnish for the final coat of polish.

Thenga has started exporting coconut products to the U.S., U.K., and United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the help of their partners. Now, Thenga has a total of 15 employees including 12 coconut artisans for the production of different materials. They source their raw materials from four oil mills with whom they have signed agreements.

The startup has reached a higher customer base during the pandemic as people tried more sustainable alternatives to return to traditional, healthier ways of living. Thenga plans to reach lakhs of customers from the present customer base of 3,000 people. They planned to expand their range of products by manufacturing coconut shell toys and containers. The startup serves the noble purpose of spreading more sustainable ways of living while providing better job opportunities for the artisans of Kerala. 

 

Five IAS officers who have driven the recycling revolution in India

 

The role of an IAS officer is almost like a roller coaster journey with a great onus on the individual. An IAS officer’s duty revolves around managing different types of administrative tasks related to a district/area/department. They take a pivotal role in govt. policy formulation & implementation, heading PSUs, etc. These officers are considered the torch-bearers of government schemes. Apart from the administrative tasks, their duty involves keeping the blocks and districts clean, secure, and developed, fighting against corruption, transforming schools, generating employment, and making healthcare accessible to all.

The Indian government has chalked out several steps to cut down single-use plastics and eventually stop all usage of them to decrease the country’s plastic footprint. Going on par with those initiatives, these five IAS officers have shown exemplary efforts to prohibit single-use plastic products and make their districts plastic-free.

Rohini Bhajibhakare, a 2008-batch Tamil Nadu-cadre IAS officer, is the first woman Collector of Salem since 1790.

Known for her swift actions for the betterment of people, she launched an eco-friendly initiative in 2017 to achieve plastic waste-free district status for Salem.

This IAS officer has slapped a ban on using polythene and plastic articles, such as bags and cups on the Collectorate campus. The officials serving in the various government departments functioning in the college and the visitors have been directed to avoid bringing food and other items in plastic bags and boxes to eradicate the use of plastic in the district. 

Mir Mohammed Ali, a 2011-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, is recognized as one of the most hard-working and honest IAS officers. He was posted as a District collector in Kannur district in 2016 and within five months made the district country's first plastic-free district. Apart from that, he took initiative to encourage the use of handloom bags woven by co-operative societies. This eco-friendly alternative helped to phase out plastic carry bags and other items. He also took strict actions against companies that don’t stop using plastic products.

In 2020, he was appointed as the officer on special duty to CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Presently, he is the executive director of Suchitwa Mission and director of the environment department.

 

Megh Nidhi Dahal is a 2015 batch IAS officer hailed from Sikkim. While posted as the sub-divisional officer (SDO) in the North Salmara Subdivision of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, he was deeply concerned over the growing dependence of people on plastic. The increasing use of plastic was negatively impacting the environment there and creating problems for plants, wildlife, and the human population.

He started bringing the change right from his office by replacing the plastic cups and glasses with glass tumblers and earthen cups. Sikkim was the first state to ban disposable plastic bags in 1998; under Dahal’s supervision, the state banned the use of plastic water bottles in government offices and events in 2016.

Starting from Republic Day in 2018, he and his staff members minimized the use of plastic and replaced those with steel jars and glass tumblers sourced from local clay artisans in Abhayapuri. His office bought the earthen items in bulk for their official meetings and reused them as and when required. Megh also tried to find an alternative for thermocol bowls and during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections became successful to replace the thermocol bowls with cornstarch containers. They sourced it locally from Barpeta and other parts,

 

Ashish Thakare, a 2011-batch IAS officer, launched a green initiative in Odisha's Keonjhar district administration by cutting down plastic waste and retracing the local roots.

The tribal community of the Keonjhar district used plates and cutlery made out of leaves of Sal tree, which grows abundantly in the region. However, as single-use plastics became increasingly popular, the use of Sal plates was diminished.

The District Magistrate has made a rule to discard if not reduce the use of plastic plates and cutlery from the District Collectorate and opted for more sustainable eco-friendly options.

This eco-friendly initiative did not have only environmental benefits, it re-stabilized the business of the tribal workers who used to make those plates out of natural ingredients. After this initiative, local tribal women are being employed to make Sal leaf plates for the Keonjhar Collectorate for a regular income.

 

         

Hari Chandana Dasari, a 2010-batch IAS officer, is the zonal Commissioner (West Zone) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Starting from 2016, she launched several recycling initiatives under her jurisdiction that augur well for the city’s ‘green moves’. Under her supervision, Hyderabad is witnessing a remarkable change by installing upcycled furniture made from unused tires and old oil drums at over 120 parks in the city along with housing and sanitation projects where paver tiles and roofing sheets are made of recycled plastic.

Apart from this, Dasari initiated the ‘Give and Share’ center, where numerous kiosks across Hyderabad have erected small 3-walled structures, where people can donate anything and everything for underprivileged people to pick up.

 

 

 

Divya Priyadarshni, a 24-Year-Old Phenomenal Social Worker from Bihar

 

The youth of every country is recognized to represent the future, as they bring new ideas and energy to the society that contribute to the development of the country as well as enhancement of the standard of living of common men. In every part of the world young people work as the catalysts to bring change to the areas of education, technology, and economy. Divya Priyadarshni, a 24-year-old chemistry postgraduate from Bihar went the extra mile to provide education to the children of extremely underprivileged backgrounds in her nearby localities. 

Learning from life’s catastrophes, Divya was well aware of the struggles faced by the girls of lower-middle-class families. Born in a patriarchal society, from an early age, Divya faced all those difficulties that are encountered by any other girl in Indian society. However, she did not lose hope and continued fighting for the rights of every child – the right to education for a better life. Her struggles gave her the strength and compassion to strive for girls with a similar fate. At the early age of 12 years, Divya started educating extremely underprivileged children living around her residential area and continued that for the next three years. Her zest towards social work that started with that initiative brought her the overwhelming satisfaction of helping the unfortunate with something as basic and important as education.

 

Being a bright student from her childhood, Divya Priyadarshni has achieved various awards throughout her academic journey and was awarded the Pratibha Samman after completing class 10th. Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, Divya was not willing but continued higher studies in science, so it can help her to build a secure career in the future. However, Divya’s brilliance was not restricted to her academic grounds. She started working on a project called ‘Nirman’, under which she has identified the problem within a community and led many projects like English Literacy and Wall Kalakaar. Nirman signifies positive structuration and Divya aimed to build skills like leadership, critical thinking, collaboration, and teamwork in students through this project. She understood that student can achieve their goal in life through a collaborative voice and set up a student council for that purpose.

She believes in skill-based education and is trying to develop under the Life and Entrepreneurship Skill Enhancement Program in Secondary education. Even during the Covid 19 pandemic, she was committed to spreading awareness to the areas with no or limited internet access. She has put in her best efforts to bridge the communication from one student to another and provide the accurate information that she can by grass root level community immersion.

During the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) in July 2020, Divya organized an online session based on the vital roles played by teachers in creating an overall impact on the student’s life with improved pedagogy and innovative way of teaching. NEP is the first education policy of this century that is focused on the rising developmental imperatives of our country and is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Divya’s initiative to strengthen this policy is supported by teachers as well as Gandhi fellows and student leaders. Apart from that, Divya also organized a workshop where she discussed making the schools of the Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan ready for innovation based on life and entrepreneurship skills. 

Divya is currently working on a project named SPOT-ON with two of her friends - Ankit Pandey and Abhay Kumar Ojha. The mission of this project is to help existing SHGs (Self Help Group) to produce sanitary napkins in micro-units and provide them the required raw materials, access to finance and subsidies, and maintenance services for that purpose. This project received instant appreciation in the neighborhood and by govt. The efforts and enthusiasm to bring a positive change in society are applauded with an award at the Festival for Change contest in Promoting Economic Pluralism. She is also working as a policy enthusiast with a group associated with the public policy domain. Divya believes that “The idea which is going to nurture a community is the best possible gift you can return to your community”.