From India’s first tribal women battalion displaying strength to a sister-duo spearheading a sustainable fashion brand - the top social stories of the week

From an invention that aids farmers in South India, a four-year-old career counselling startup for students, to a four-time cancer survivor, supporting others affected by the illness, impactful fixes are being made by innovators who wish to make a positive change in their fields. 

Furthermore, we also feature a niche fashion jewellery brand started by a sister-duo to create and promote sustainable fashion. The company recycles, reinvests, and wants to reduce the dark effect that fast fashion has on the environment.

On February 26, 2020, Bihar saw more women of valour and strength at the passing-out parade of India’s first tribal women battalion.

Here are the top social stories of the week:

This startup is providing career counselling to over 12,000 students across India

Aditya Bose started ProBano in 2017, which provides feasible counselling and has reached out to 12,000 students from 142 institutes across 11 states.

At ProBano, career counselling is a mixture of online content, psychometric tests, and in-person support to help students explore career options, and shortlist three career options they are interested in.

SocialStory met Aditya during Jagrati Yatra, who says,

“We aim to democratise quality career guidance and don’t want students from the bottom of the pyramid to miss out on it because of the huge potential it possesses. That’s why we have career guidance offerings that provide a mix of online and in-person career guidance priced at Rs 99 – Rs 4,999 per student.”

About 74 percent of ProBano’s students started career planning after receiving guidance. It doesn’t want to only cater to Tier-I cities, but also Tier-II and III cities, along with having a presence in rural areas.

This 60-year old’s invention to help farmers climb trees has caught Anand Mahindra's attention

Ganapathi Bhat, a 60-year-old resident of Karnataka, has developed a climbing machine called Areca Bike. Hailing from Komale village, Bantwal taluk of Karnataka, Ganapathi’s bike is made from hydraulic drum brakes, hand gear, a double chain, and a safety belt.

Any innovation in the agricultural sector, be it organic farming that enhances the quality of crops or some machinery that would help on the field, is a boon for farmers.

According to Ganapathi, with just one litre of petrol, a farmer can climb 90 trees. And the bikes are now selling like hotcakes. In the past seven months, he claims to have sold nearly 1,000 bikes.

The bike, which weighs 28 kg, is powered by a two-stroke engine and costs Rs 75,000, including GST.

Bihar shows the way by raising India’s first tribal women battalion

The ‘Bihar Police Swabhiman Vahini’ comprises 675 women constables. All the women belonging to this battalion are from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities of Jamui, Rohtas, Bettiah, and other areas across Bihar. 

As reported by Femina, the Bihar government told the media that raising this battalion is part of the State's efforts to ensure the empowerment of women in all walks of life. 

The battalion’s passing out parade was held in Patna on February 26, where the confident women displayed their skills and strength. Constable Karuna Hansdah, belonging to the Tharu tribe, headed the parade.

Senior Bihar Police officers stated that the battalion’s permanent headquarters is to be at Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran, Bihar. 

These sisters launch eco-friendly measures through their fashion jewellery brand

Sister-duo Kaabia and Sasha Grewal founded Outhouse in 2012, since then, their business has gradually been building a slew of sustainable processes. The Noida-based business is attempting to go the sustainable way by recycling old metals, manufacturing products like vegan leather bags, and also collaborating with non-governmental organisations to preserve the environment. 

The company has about 80 people on board including designers, marketers, and workers involved in the production. In a span of eight years, Outhouse has carved a niche for itself in the industry. It won the Vogue Fashion Fund in 2015 and was even featured in the Forbes India 30 Under 30 list in 2016. 

“A lot of stuff from our old, unsold stock and materials that fail quality checks are sent back for reinventing and creating new collections. We figured that even small initiatives like these make a big impact on sustainability,” Kaabia told SocialStory.

Today, Outhouse has two retail stores – one located in Delhi and the other in Mumbai – besides its wide online presence.

Meet Parimal Gandhi, a four-time cancer survivor who still hasn't lost his sense of humour

At the age of 21, Parimal was diagnosed with bilateral corneal dystrophy — a rare hereditary disorder that leads to the clouding of the cornea in both eyes – hampering vision. Parimal was later diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a blood cancer that starts in the lymphatic system. This was in 1984, 10 years after being diagnosed with dystrophy.

He goes by the mantra that, ‘you’re not just your body, you’re far beyond that’.

He went on to find a Hungarian engine driver-turned-ophthalmologist in Ahmedabad, who invited him to the US and assured him that his vision would be restored. He was enabled by Rotary International to fly to the US where his hosts instituted a ‘Parimal Gandhi Fund’ and within two days, collected the fees for a surgery he needed which was $8,000. 

“My sense of humour – without which I could not have lived a life that I have lived. I refuse to take these things seriously. I will put myself in the hands of the best doctor and then be myself,” says Parimal, when asked about how he found internal solutions to his problem. 

(Edited by Suman Singh)