For A Sustainable Tomorrow

This afforestation project has resulted in many benefits. It has helped regenerate the ecology in the region, as livestock grazing had eroded the greens, and also benefited the community in other ways. Narendra Jain, General Secretary, Seva Mandir, explains, “We have planted a million trees till now in partnership with MMT Foundation. We have a goal for each year. This year, we are going to plant one lakh trees. The planting brings a regular supply of fodder, firewood, fruits and grass for the villagers. It’s also a bonding exercise, as the community works on it together.”

Over 6,000 families have benefited from this initiative in the region. Water resource structures have also been upgraded. Natural wells have been expanded. A fence and slope have been made around the wells, so that more water gets stored during the rainy season. This helps recharge ground water and also provides water to the villagers around the year.

Besides the regeneration of natural resources, livelihood has also been generated. Braj Kumar, Sarpanch of Panada village, cites that youth have found employment in fields and no longer search for work outside the region. Families no longer need to buy grass and fodder for their livestock from the neighbouring cities and Gujarat. Nathulal Garasia of the same village is happy for there are abundant staple wild berries like goonda, kair for his livestock. Women, too, participate in this plantation drive by cutting the grass, and distributing the stacks equally within the community.

The success of this initiative changed the passage for MMT Foundation. It was formally established in 2015 and a clear charter with four pillars was put in place. These became the guiding force for future projects.

For the short span of summer, the pristine environment of Ladakh attracts adventurous tourists. Its indigenous culture and exotic flora and fauna also pull conservationists and curious travellers.

Addressing the challenges faced by the natives, MMT Foundation partnered with World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) to create indigenous homestays and eco-cafes. The goal is to work towards the conservation of fragile Himalayan ecosystems by reaching out to specific groups, along with promoting community-based tourism and creating alternate livelihood options.

The Foundation involved the Zila Parishads and village leaders to identify the beneficiaries. Training programmes were held for capacity building, waste collection and segregation. Kitchen gardening, compost making, dairy farming were encouraged. The beneficiaries were also given training on hospitality and aided with infrastructure such as construction of toilets, giving dinnerware, furniture and other amenities to kickstart the operations. They were discouraged to opt for single-use plastic products, and educated on plastic pollution.

The homestay and eco-cafés owners were also trained as naturalists, storytellers and guides. MMT Foundation believes in creating destination leaders who can offer culturally immersive experiences along with keeping the environment healthy. “The guides offer nature treks for tourists and highlight the importance of preserving local flora and fauna,” says Ravneesh Klair, Programme Officer, WWF-India.

Nargis Bano, her husband Ahmed Ali and their four children are very happy with the new found livelihood as proud homestay owners. They live in an indigenous stone and mud home in Dras, which is the second coldest place on the planet. Ahmed Ali used to be the sole bread earner, working as a daily wager, sometimes leading people on eco-trails or working as labourer until his wife got training for the homestay. “Now that we have a new income source, we can do more things. Sometimes, photographers book for the entire month to see the endangered Himalayan brown bear. As I have been trained as a naturalist also, I take them for trails where they can take photographs of the bear. I can save for the winter. My children can go to school regularly and there are more opportunities for their progress,” says Ahmed Ali.

An added benefit is the exposure of the community to other cultures. The children learn more about the world beyond their homes, even becoming more aware of the richness of their surroundings and helping the parents in this endeavour towards a better life.

While Bano was trained to run a homestay, Bashir Ahmed from Matayein was trained to run an eco-café. Matayein is the first village in Ladakh when entering via Kashmir and his eco-café is strategically located on the main road. The 50-year-old used to run a nondescript tea stall, until he became the owner of the indigenous stone and mud café, supported by MMT Foundation. This has given him a standing in the community, made him more confident and brought a change in his income. “I used to only sell tea earlier, so the income was lesser. Now, we make our own namkeen, samosas, Momos. We also serve Maggi and biscuits,” he says. A dry toilet was constructed at the back of his cafe, as the region faces water scarcity

More beneficiaries of this project have homestays in Dras and Sankoo, and eco-cafes in Mulbekh, Alchi and Tangtse.

Segregated waste bins have been placed across the island and manpower has been deployed for maintenance. Florida-based Tejinder was pleased to see dustbins at Bharatpur beach, the best beach on the island. “The locals even pick up trash thrown by tourists and put them in dustbins,” he says.

As Bharatpur Beach did not have any toilet facilities, a containerised public convenience unit was set up. This contains toilets, showers, changing and feeding rooms, lockers, mobile charging points. It is powered through solar energy and has an effluent treatment plant with environment-friendly technology. It also includes a sanitary pad incinerator and receives a footfall of over 150 tourists a day. It is a self-sustainable pay and use facility for tourists. The facility is maintained by the community, who keep the income generated from the use of the container.

Swati, a tourist from Chandigarh, says, “Usually, I hesitate to use public toilets but this one was so clean. We really appreciate this facility that is lacking in most outdoor places.”

The Foundation has also installed three water ATMs at the harbour, market and at the natural bridge at Lakshmanpur Beach. “We partnered with Tata Chemicals for a detailed study on the level and quality of groundwater. And it was found to be potable,” says Kalra. The water is tested every month. The ATMs too are maintained by the community women who keep the income generated from this.

“MMT Foundation is also distributing titanium BPA free reusable bottles as a souvenir for every tourist. These can be refilled with potable water at the free recharge stations in hotels or at the water ATMs,” says Girish Arora, Partner, Seashell Hotels and Resorts, & President Hoteliers Association of Andaman & Nicobar, and Chairman, The Habitat Institute.

The Foundation also undertakes awareness activities, campaigns and capacity building sessions for tour guides, cab drivers and other tourism stakeholders from time to time.

“We deployed green workers to clean the area. Over 45 dustbins were installed in the vicinity. The green workers conduct door-to-door waste collection and segregate the waste,” says Naveen Kumar Sadana, Lead-Outreach & Advocacy, Waste Warriors, Dehradun. The segregated waste is sent to a designated disposal unit in Dehradun. Dry waste is stored for recycling while wet waste is composted. Over the years, close to 72 MT of waste has been collected.

The clean healthy surroundings and beautiful environs have made everyone happy. Naseema, Gram Pradhan Dhanaula, Dehradun, and the villagers are glad that there is no stink and dirt around their homes. A clean location also attracts more shoppers, says Anoop Payal, President, Vypaar Mandal.

The project has also been replicated at Kempty Falls, Mussoorie. En route Yamunotri, here too waste levels are at a disproportionate level and the urgency to keep the area clean and pollution free is high.

How do you ensure that the beneficiaries remain self-sustained once the project deadline is over?
This is one of the biggest parameters for identifying the project. All of our projects are based on building community institutions for long term sustainability and participation of state and non-state stakeholders right from the beginning. The selected partners should be strong in execution, have the ability to engage the community and stakeholders and share the passion quotient. For instance, the waste management project at Sahasradhara, Dehradun, we trained and aligned every stakeholder so that they realized the importance of hygiene and cleanliness. This may take a couple of years but we don't leave the project unless it becomes fully sustainable.

What new projects do you have in the pipeline?
We are working on rural and community-based tourism projects through homestays in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and other destinations in North East with Tata Trusts and Ministry of Tourism. We are also working with the armed forces in Jammu & Kashmir for skilling the youth and women in embroidery. We are planning to take on some good projects under ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme. We intend to take rural tourism to the next level.

Besides the core team, how do the other employees contribute to the CSR initiatives?
We have a strong value system within the organization. We invite experts to talk about sustainable and responsible tourism and the impact of climate change. There have been panel discussions as well. There is an exchange of ideas and information within departments as well. For instance, the ‘destination holiday’ package team is familiar with all the destinations and the geographical issues. They share their knowledge with the CSR team. These interlinked contributions make a huge difference when the projects are executed.

What more would you like to do?
My dream is to make the entire archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar Islands single-use plastic free. We also want to go deeper into Ladakh and Kashmir with eco-friendly practices. My trip to Gulmarg was wonderful, but it was distressing to see the waste. We want to work with local governments and the tourism department there.

What have been the learnings seeing the best practices across the globe?
My recent trip to South America was an eye opener. I visited the Galapagos Islands, the archipelago in Ecuador, with my family. This is where Charles Darwin propounded his theory on the evolution of species. And I observed how strict they are with their norms. The islands are uninhabited and you are not allowed to leave behind ‘anything;’. Everyone is given an aluminium water bottle for the trip. There is not a single speck of plastic. There are no toilets either. I saw a fascinating refill pod in South America, which has a digital counter display. It displaysyou how many bottles are saved every time you fill a bottle.
I stayed in an eco-resort in the Amazon where there was no waste pollution. But the eco-lodges were old. They didn’t have power for 12 hours one day. I suggested they switch to solar power instead of the generator. And they said they were working on it. So, we can learn and teach at the same time, that’s the beauty of travel. I feel we need to be as strict on enforcing the laws to keep our fragile spaces pristine. We need to police ourselves and each other for a green future.