From teaching robotics to children to making tableware from pine needles – the top Social Stories of the week
This week, SocialStory spoke to Gurugram-based Terraphilic, which is growing standardised, fixed-price, and organic hemp, and others who are aiding the underserved communities of India.
Robotex India is a non-profit initiative that teaches robotics to the underserved children of India. Similarly, another organisation, Dream a Dream, has aided over three million deprived children in the country.
While these organisations have been aiding children, Megha Mandli, on the other hand, is improving the lives of women farmers in Gujarat’s Tapi district.
In our Sustainability Agenda series, we spoke to Vasshin Composites, which makes tableware from pine needles. Meanwhile, Gurugram-based Terraphilic is helping out the burgeoning hemp-based industry by growing standardised, fixed-price, and organic hemp. Terraphilic is known to be the first Indian company to do so.
Here are the top Social Stories of the week:
This non-profit is making robotics accessible to rural and underserved children across India
In the past few years, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics has been gaining a lot of prominence among the student population across the world.
One such company is Robotex International, which is giving students a platform to showcase their talents in robotics since 2001.
Robotex India — a non-profit organisation advancing STEAM, robotics, AI, ML, and IoT to government schools in urban, tribal, and rural areas — was initiated by Payal Rajpal in 2018.
How Megha Mandli is improving the lives of women farmers in Gujarat’s Tapi district
Co-operatives have played a key role in financially empowering women and giving them access to finance, the latest agricultural information, and market links to sell their produce. Among the oldest is the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Gujarat, which was established in 1972.
Megha Mandli, a part of SEWA, was registered in 2014, and is creating livelihood opportunities for women by giving them access to agricultural tools and seeds. It also gives them access to insurance, healthcare, savings, and credit services. It currently has 1,001 members from Gujarat’s Tapi district.
SocialStory spoke to Sangitaben, an agewan in the collective, about how the organisation is socially and economically empowering women farmers.
How this licensed hemp cultivation startup is changing the face of hemp sourcing in India
When Canada and parts of the US legalised cannabis a few years ago, it set off a frenzy in the startup ecosystem, each trying to outdo the other with its innovative offerings, unique selling proposition, and creative use of the plant.
From cannabis bakeries and cafes to cannabis-infused chocolates and liqueurs, and organic cannabis growers, a lot of companies have made bank in the years following the legalisation.
Founded in 2019 by Aurick Sengupta, Gaurav Ladwal, and Shubham Saurabh, Terraphilic is India’s first licensed hemp cultivation startup, which means it is legally allowed to grow hemp for commercial consumption.
The startup owns a two-acre farm in Uttarakhand, where it is currently cultivating handpicked, regulatory-grade hemp from seeds it legally imported from France.
Sustainability Agenda: Why this startup chose pine needles to make tableware
Abhinav Talwar started Vasshin Composites along with Bhoomi Thakkar in 2019. The startup aims to replace plastics with goods made out of pine needles. The Delhi-headquartered startup also aims to create awareness about sustainability with them.
Through their brand Vasshin Agro Composites, founded in 2020, the startup produces tableware and cutlery, including plates, trays, glasses, bowls, etc which ranges anywhere between Rs 350 and Rs 1500 depending on the product. It also makes sustainable Lego blocks with pines to cater to children.
This month, it introduced mobile holders made out of pine needles and will soon launch cutting boards.
How Dream a Dream has impacted the lives of 3 million children from vulnerable backgrounds
In 1999, a group of 11 young professionals, all in their early 20s, decided to come together to spend weekends volunteering their time helping youth from vulnerable backgrounds. The genesis of the group – Dream a Dream – happened after one of the co-founders, Vishal Talreja, returned to India from a trip to Finland.
What began as a simple endeavour of conducting art classes and outings has since burgeoned into a massive effort that has impacted millions of children across five states – Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.
Today, Dream a Dream conducts an After School Life Skills Programme and Career Connect Programme and works with 10,000 young people each year. The organisation has also trained over 9,828 teachers/educators from 206 partners.
Edited by Suman Singh