These Eco-stays in Uttarakhand will definitely make you conscious tourists

1 Comment / By Ishika Rawat

Eco-stays in Uttarakhand are paving the way for bio-conservation and restoration!

The majestic beauty of the hilly terrain of Uttarakhand is a source of joy for the residents and tourists that visit the state every year. The residents take great pride in the hordes of tourists that flock to their hills: some on a Char-Dham pilgrimage while others to experience the pleasing climate and culture. This inflow of people also brings them a constant source of income.

However, this inflow also ends up being a double-edged sword. The tourists visiting the bountiful hills are not conscious enough of the ecological harm they bring to the region with their detrimental habits of garbage disposal, energy usage and abuse of biodiversity habitats etc. The most evident example of this is the latest discussions on the extensive garbage pollution that the re-opening of Char Dham Yatra has brought about. Moreover, the natives are raising concerns about the damage the garbage will do to the ecology, especially in the landslide-prone areas (something they had experienced in the 2013 Uttarakhand Tragedy).

Fueled by their desire to protect their homeland from further degradation and restore the glory of the bountiful ecology of Uttarakhand, many residents have taken it upon themselves to work towards bio-conservation and condition the tourists to contribute to this goal too. One of their main steps for this purpose is establishing Eco-stays in various state regions.

What do we mean by Eco-stays?

An Eco-stay or Eco-lodge is ‘a sustainably designed and operated lodge that focuses on minimizing its impact on the environmental and local environment it is part of’. This ‘green hotel’ is intended to promote the harmonious existence of a man with nature through its various practices of conscious tourism, boosting the local economy, minimizing carbon footprints, etc.

These eco-resorts ensure that travellers act more responsibly when they visit as they experience the beauty of nature and learn about the local community and biodiversity that inhabit the place.

What are the different types?

With the common goal of bio-conservation and spreading awareness, several different types of eco-stays exist that emphasize distinct ways of striving for this goal.

Some Eco-resorts and hostels profess the use of clean and green energy. But on the other hand, there are farm and village stays. These offer activities that educate the travellers about eco-friendly practices, waste management, organic produce and local culture. In addition, there are specialised farm stays, like a Vegan Farmstead, where they highlight animal-free agriculture, which includes no animal-sourced fertilisers, etc.

A small part of these eco-stays also takes delight in departing valuable memories of the greenery as the travellers engage in adventure activities like parachute gliding, rappelling, river rafting, etc.

What makes these retreats in Uttarakhand Eco-stay destinations?

The fulfilment of the overarching mission of bio-conservation and restoration might be the defining factor of an Eco-stay. Still, there are a lot of smaller, distinct processes that make a retreat a sustainable eco-stay. Let’s take a look at some of these aspects:

Eco-architecture

Himalayan-hemp-eco-stay-eco-stay-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Himalayana Hemp Eco stay

Himalayan-hemp-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Himalayan Hemp Eco stay

Usually, plans for establishing any retreat start with designing and building the living space. Then, one would begin designing a ‘green building’ to make a place an Eco-stay.

The Eco-resort owners in Uttarakhand have taken great care to construct such a green building and forge a sustainable system to support it. Moreover, these eco-stay owners have laid a strong foundation for their bio-conservative plans, from utilising renewable energy sources like solar energy, and setting up a rain-water harvesting system, to using eco-friendly materials like carbon capture tiles.

A perfect example of such architecture would be the Himalayan Hemp Eco Stay of Pauri Garhwal, built with eco-friendly building blocks called “Hempcrete”. These blocks, made up of a mix of parts of the hemp plant, lime, fly ash, and more, make the buildings earthquake-resistant and act as a natural temperature regulator. Other eco-stays also offer their customers a chance to live in naturally constructed cottages of clay, mud walls, and stones.

Eco-Decor & Furniture

Onizni-eco-stay-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Onizni Eco-stay

Onizni-lodge-eco-stay-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Onizni Lodge

After erecting the exterior green structure and employing the sustainable support system, the following essential feature of an eco-stay is the place’s environmentally friendly interior decor and furniture. Eco-stays tend to proffer natural comfort, to go hand-in-hand with the outer modelling of the site, much like the ones we see in quaint little cottages.

Many, like Onizni Eco Lodge in Nathuakhan Village (Nainital), are home to accommodations that boast a wooden interior design, where the furniture is made of regional wood, and sometimes even wooden tiles line the inside of the place. Some eco-stays also tend to avoid the usage of modern equipment and appliances, relying entirely on natural coolers and local ways of living.

Zerowaste Lifestyle

fagunia-farmstay-eco-stay-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Fagunia Farmstay

fagunia-farmstay-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Fagunia Farmstay

Another vital mission that these eco-stays carry is the utilisation and propagation of a “Zero-Waste lifestyle”. This practice tests their strategic planning and implementation abilities, as they employ various ways to minimise the wastage of energy, water, resources, etc., from every activity of their retreat.

From implementing energy-conservative systems and appliances to composting kitchen waste and donating leftovers to the hungry to treating and reusing wastewater, the eco-stays carry out practices of a zero-waste lifestyle. For example, Fagunia Farmstay, located near Nainital, composts its wet wastes and uses its onsite recycling twin-pit system to convert its sewage waste into organic fertiliser for their fields.

Efficient waste management

Aahana-resort-eco-stay-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Aahana resort

Aahana-resort-in-uttarakhand-ecopurple — Aahana resort

Just as our Honorable Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, asserted in one of his latest speeches, one of the most significant steps needed for bio-conservation of Uttarakhand is to put in place a proper Waste management and treatment system.

‘This system he refers to is crucial for our state which is prone to landslides and erosions’, has been realised by the eco-stay in Uttarakhand, and so they are steadily remodelling their resorts and lodges. These eco-lodges are evolving to adapt to wastewater treatment systems, responsible garbage disposal, organic and vermicomposting, etc., to respond to the need of the hour.

Aside from Fagunia Farmstay mentioned above, many others, like Aahana Eco-tourism Resort of Corbett National Park, are tapping into sustainable waste management systems for composting and sewage treatments (the water from which is then being directed to their gardens and fields, etc.)

Bio-degradable materials are also being used to substitute plastic and carbon-emitting materials. These can be decomposed and utilised as organic manure, thus making solid waste management more efficient and eco-friendly. As a bonus, it helps minimise the carbon footprints of the retreat too.

Eco-stays also play an important role to empower local society and culture

Aside from the much-needed revenue generated by eco-tourism for the eco-stay owners, eco-lodges also contribute heavily to the empowerment of the locals’ quality of life. These stays provide sources of livelihood for various members of the local communities. For instance, organic produce is procured from local farmers. In addition, the local cooks prepare local delicacies for the tourists; trek guides assist in hiking activities; artisans sell handicrafts as souvenirs, etc.

The eco-stays bring awareness towards the region’s culture and natives aside from equipping their local economy and livelihoods. For example, in many eco-stays in Uttarakhand, guests are served Kumaon-Garhwali Himalayan food to give an authentic taste of the state’s culinary culture. Some retreats also use copper glasses and earthen pots to store and serve drinking water to promote health benefits. Some, like Aahana Resort, also hold cultural nights where the locals are invited to perform and even lead discussions on their cultural history and daily lives.

To deal with the ecological imbalance that the hills are experiencing, eco-stays in Uttarakhand have also initiated awareness programmes and activities for the visiting tourists, in addition to going green.

Eco-stays try to make their connection stronger with nature to enable the visitors to be more conscious tourists. This connection can be through leisurely walks in the nearby areas, yoga/meditation sessions early morning, or inviting them to partake in organic farming activities or even workshops for teaching the significance of waste management and garbage segregation. Campsites like Thath Campsite (Nag Tibba) foster a more harmonious existence with nature, where living right between the lush green trees of the hills and witnessing a breath-taking sunrise makes one realise the true beauty and boon of nature bestowed on humankind.

The fight to restore the ecology of the bounteous state of Uttarakhand to its former-sustainable state might be long and ongoing. However, the consistent atomic efforts of the established eco-stays and the local communities are slowly but surely contributing to the progress of the ecological battle.

Credits

This article is authored by Ishika Rawat, a patissier-in-training and a passionate writer who has worked for over three years to propagate and map Korean culture’s rise worldwide and in India. Hailing from Uttarakhand, she loves spending time being one with nature. While looking forward to growing as a writer and as an informed individual, she has picked up the vast theme of sustainability, which has piqued her interest recently.

Deepa Sai, the founder of ecoHQ, strategised and edited the article. The startup extends content consultations for Sustainability and Social Impact industries. Hailing from a background in Psychology, Social Work, Human Resources, and Communications, Deepa believes in Creative Advocacy. She is also a music enthusiast who consumes liberal amounts of coffee!

To learn more about communities working for environmental sustainability, click here.

Do individual efforts matter? Here are my two cents

Do individual efforts matter?

When it comes to climate change, do individual efforts matter? This is something I ponder upon every time I do something positive for our planet. And every time, I come to the same conclusion – yes, they do!

There is a school of thought that believes in entirely blaming big oil and fossil fuel giants for climate change. This thought is valid, but only to a certain extent. We tend to demand systemic change but let’s not forget that the system is made up of individuals like you and me. Thus, behavioural change at both levels becomes vital.

If we look at it, we do share 50% of the blame. I say this because we have been, and continue consuming more than we need. We fall prey to the marketing gimmicks and end up buying stuff we can totally do without. Guilty as charged!

Excess of anything results in its overuse. We overconsume food, fashion, electricity, water, private vehicles, and whatnot! To sustain our lifestyles, we now need about 1.8 earths. It this habit to overconsume one of the culprits ruining the balance of our planet. Don’t you agree?

We have been taught through our formal education why we must protect the sanctity of our natural world and the environment. Yet, we haven’t learned anything and continue to exploit. Not to be cynical but every human being plays a villainous part in some or the other way. From an unbothered politician, a careless brand, an ignorant contractor, a banking model that funds planet-destroying mining firms, to a layman refusing to give up plastic, etc. We cannot just blame our leaders and not do anything ourselves. Governments will impose countless regulations, but those won’t help unless citizens show genuine support and follow protocols.

How do individual efforts matter?

As we march towards a sustainable world, there are two possible pathways. One is to reduce our ecological footprint. This is achievable with pro-active governance on both national and international levels to put an end to further exploitation of our natural and conserve what’s left.

The other pathway is to increase the ecological capacity of our world, which is possible with our participation. Let me give you an example. We have long endured the use-and-throw culture in our lives, which has led to a tremendous amount of waste. We have created so much trash that we have not only disturbed the ecosystem on land but also that of our water bodies. But how are we tackling this problem? By simply installing units such as ‘sewage treatment plants,’ the STPs. This is known as an end-of-pipe solution. But instead of an STP, what if we stop letting waste into our rivers and seas in the first place? Wouldn’t that help keep our water bodies healthy? Wouldn’t it reduce the spending of a tax payer’s money?

It isn’t simply about installing an STP, it is about every form of waste we create. If we’ll be mindful enough to control what we discard as waste from our homes, we can contribute in increasing the ecological capacity of our planet. The first week of Covid lockdown is an excellent example. We stopped creating pollution through our cars and factories, and boom! Air became cleaner and skies clearer. Just imagine what we can achieve if we implement deliberate and immediate measures.

We as citizens hold two big assets to make change happen. The first one is our ability to vote. The leader we vote for isn’t just responsible for developing our economy. We need to realise that our leader has to be conscious enough to develop a nation’s ecological capacity and quality of life for its citizen, alongside the economy. So when a government turns out to be incompetent, we share the blame.

The second asset we hold is the ability to vote with our wallets. As more and more individuals are going green, we now have brands coming up with sustainable alternatives. We are seeing this change happen. I do not need statistics to support this (in case you’re not convinced, check out this report by the WWF). Every time you purchase an eco-friendly service/product, you are voting with your wallet. So you see, what we chose to buy, changes the market. A change in the market helps in transitioning to a more sustainable society.

I understand that it would be complete ignorance at my end if I do not address the problem of equity in our society. Not everyone has the privilege of voting with their wallets. But this is not a problem with no solution. It is the responsibility of our authorities to provide every citizen with equitable access to resources. An equal starting point for each human makes development easier, again drawing attention to the importance of voting.

Today, multiple instances show how citizen action drives change. It was evident when the Dutch government sued Royal Dutch Shell. It is evident with the Riverfront development project in Pune kept on hold. It is evident with the price of a bamboo toothbrush coming down from once ₹150 to now ₹50! It is evident with countless options for vegans of today. It is evident with a brand like H&M, after receiving a lot of backlash, introducing “sustainable” clothing line. There are many more such instances.

So do individual efforts matter? Hell yeah! Perhaps the only differentiating factor is that the pace of change might be slow. But it is of value. The onus should not be on the government, nor should it be on individuals. It has to be a partnership.

Behavioural change has to be at both levels. Only a well-informed, aware, and educated person can take mindful decisions for his citizens and the planet. Similarly, only a well-informed, aware, and educated citizen will make mindful choices that support sustainability.

In conclusion, read this out loud: INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS MATTER! Never believe otherwise.

Ecopurple always intends to influence people to do more good for our planet. This opinion piece is one of those humble attempts.

Graviky lab’s AIR-INK® is a promising solution to pollution!

Black Exhaust to Black Ink!

How does vehicular pollution look – Black, White, or Grey? And how much does it contribute to environmental pollution? Is there a solution to this pollution?

In India, air pollution is led by industries at 51%, followed by motor vehicles at 27%, then a disturbing 17% by burning agriculture waste and 5% by other sources. Work is in progress to either find sustainable energy alternatives or offset the carbon impact using other green technologies/activities.

Research to not only reduce vehicular pollution but also make use of it continues to date. As a result, many technological innovations to tackle air pollution have emerged in recent years. One such unique innovation is Graviky Lab’s AIR-INK®

Developed in India, this technology by Graviky labs follows the laws of conservation of energy by converting exhaust pollution into usable ink, making it a perfect circular economy.

How does this work?

Kaalink (derived from a Hindi word, ‘Kaali’ meaning black), a carbon-capturing device, is mounted at the end of the exhaust/tailpipe of a bike, a car, or a diesel generator. This device stores up to 95% of the pollutants coming out of the engines. Kaalink collects the particulate matter (PM) of carbon emissions – the Carbon Soot. Inhaling carbon soot can cause severe respiratory diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, and more.

In an experiment, fitting a Kaalink to an old Euro 3 car removed 45 minutes’ worth of emissions by filling a 30 ml container. The magnitude of pollution control that can be achieved on motor vehicles older than five years, diesel engines generators on a macro scale can be a gamechanger for the automotive and industrial pollution practices.

How significant is this AIR-INK®?

The innovation takes on both sides of the coin in one go. Not only does it curb air pollution, but it also provides a sustainable option for manufacturing ink for various industries. Conventionally, ink preparation involves two stages: mixing the solvent, resin and additives and adding necessary pigments to provide printability to the ink. By this process of making the best out of waste, ink can be produced for the packaging and printing industry, personal and commercial paper printing, sticky ink for plastic cards, apparel and automotive interiors, marker pens for artworks, etc.

Graviky Lab’s Air-Ink is not available for the public, yet. However, with some kick-starter programs, they have managed to clear about 1 trillion litres of air and collected more than 770 litres of ink!

With home-grown innovations like this, challenging the traditional approach of balancing carbon footprint, the right growth platforms should be built to not only help them reach the right market quickly but also promote more start-ups to come up with unique solutions as ‘From India, For the world’.

About the Author

Abhijeet Parmar, founder of Senergy Pallet Pvt. Ltd., is working to introduce Eco-friendly Logistics Pallets in Asia-Pacific Region. He aims to bring the focus on outstanding clean-tech startups of India. ‘It’s not just that we have a huge talent pool in our country, but it is also the need of the hour’, says Abhijeet..

To know more such stories of eco-creativity, click here.

A Day at Devkund Waterfall – Ecopurple’s Third Successful Clean-up Trek

Devkund waterfall - a must-visit place for a Clean-up Trek!

On 24th October 2021, Ecopurple organized its third successful Clean-up trek under the ‘Trek for Nature’ initiative. After making a difference at mount Kalsubai and fort Harihar, this time, we chose the crowd-favourite destination – Devkund Waterfall.

I am super grateful to have been able to make a difference with these 21 amazing earthlings! Together, 22 of us collected 14 huge bags of trash from the waterfall to the base village. We trekked, chilled, and cleaned!

Despite being such an exquisite place, the trail was littered with tons and tons of trash! We found the same-old waste items – food wrappers, single-use bottles, masks, slippers, shoe soles, polyethene bags, and much more! To say it was disturbing would be an absolute understatement.

It is saddening that people consider nature a good place to dump their ‘kachra’ and not care for the consequences. The 14 bags we collected don’t even constitute 1% of the total trash that must be lying in and around the forest. So much of the waste was inaccessible to us. We certainly need thousands of participants to clean this beauty of a location.

Nevertheless, we feel proud about the fact that we did our part. We left the place cleaner than how we found it. Our intent to create awareness was pretty successful, thanks to all the volunteers!

As always, we ended our clean-up trek by donating all the trash to Sangam Pratishthan (a waste management NGO), making sure the waste is taken care of responsibly.

Ecopurple looks forward to organizing more clean-up treks in the near future. If you are reading this, we count on your valuable participation 🙂

Watch this reel to get a glimpse of how Ecopurple's clean-up trek looks like 🙂

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How bad are the impacts of climate change? How to deal?

Earth is warming, ice is melting, and we are chillin'!

The Afghanistan crisis due to the Taliban takeover, or the trade war between US-China, highlights contemporary International politics. Underdeveloped and developing nations are still facing the heat of the COVID wave while developed economies recover due to their vast vaccination programmes. But amid all these, another situation that needs to be addressed at utmost priority, but still ignored blatantly: CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

The impacts of Climate change are evident for quite a long time now, and we don’t need to dig many records to understand it. Many events that occurred globally during recent times are, by far, the most alarming signals of Climate change, and they need to be addressed, NOW!

But really, how bad are the impacts of Climate Change? Why do we need to worry?

A recent report by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) titled ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical science basis’ has flagged many concerns and stats that need to be put on the table now, if not before! The report predicts that the world is on track for global temperature warming by at least 2.7 (degree)C by 2100, calling it “code red” for humanity.

According to the report Indian ocean is warming at a higher rate than any other ocean, which will eventually cause a rise in sea levels resulting in frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-level areas. Extremes such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms are only intensifying with rising temperatures. The report warns of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region shrinking and snow cover retreating to higher altitudes!

A study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology at Dehradun states that precipitation of summer periods at higher altitudes may change from snow to rain, disturbing the summer and winter patterns!! Now, at least “No Snow in the North” should open our eyes wide open! The IPCC report warns clearly of mountain glaciers shrinking, and permafrost will continue to thaw in all regions where they are present.

Another staggering event that occurred recently was rainfall at the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet for the first time on record, another signal of warming accelerating ice sheet melting at a rapid rate. Recent series of towns washed away in Germany, Subways turned into storm water drains in China, forests fried in the US, and many lives lost due to flooding in India, all are the impacts of CLIMATE CHANGE!! It would be appropriate to quote “warming is coming!”

via GIPHY

How can we deal with this crisis?

We should consider all these findings the tip of the iceberg (worried about future generations being puzzled while using such a phrase, as the warming would melt all icebergs for them to witness it!) We need to act globally, and it should be now! Territorial disputes can take a break to limit ourselves to ecological boundaries. World leaders must frame appropriate policies. Private investments should chip in for sustainable growth, with collective efforts at all local levels.

The IPCC report clearly states that for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 Degrees, cumulative net emissions should be net-zero and not just net emissions. Developed countries need to revamp their environmental policies. Developing and underdeveloped nations need to frame their development agendas, prioritizing environment and sustainability.

The commitment of leaders at the G7 summit towards Climate change is somewhat of a relief; but, it needs to be taken ahead by all the stakeholders. The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the UN Framework Convention on climate change is scheduled for November in Glasgow. All eyes will be on the world policymakers to take some global measures to mitigate the climate crisis!

Our history shows that extensive public outcry has pulled off massive revolutions. It is not wrong to say that we are at the stage where we might need a new global reformation! An eco revolution! To strive for ourselves and the generations to come! We ought to look at the bigger global picture and act on it. As Gandhiji said, “Be the change you want to see in the world” we need to be the wave of that change and rise against the rise of warming! While the earth is warming and glaciers are melting, we definitely cannot be chillin!!!

We would love to know your views on this matter. Feel free to express what you think in the comments 🙂

To read more such articles click here.

Medellín’s Green Corridors Project: a Blueprint for a Sustainable World

1 Comment / By Sharayu Mishal

Here's how Medellín's Green Corridors Project is helping the city to control rising heat levels

Colombia’s second-largest city – Medellín, turned to nature-based solutions to tackle the rising urban heat levels. The city faced the urban heat island effect, as the concrete and asphalt infrastructures kept the city warm by absorbing and radiating the sun’s energy.

To deal with such elevating temperatures, the city officials decided to increase their town’s green cover. As a result, Medellín’s Green Corridors Project came into action. Through the initiative, the city turned 18 streets and 12 waterways into mini forests. They converted several isolated dumping areas into beautiful gardens. The community cherishes and voluntarily looks after the gardens.

The afforestation helped the city to reduce its temperature by 2 degrees! Moreover, the natural cooling effect of these 30 Green Corridors introduced bees and birds back to the city.

These are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.

– The International Union of Nature Conservation

Medellín’s Green Corridors project, promoting green infrastructures, is an excellent example that proves adaptation to and mitigating climate change is possible. All we need to do is to live in harmony with our natural world. A sustainable world would not be a pipe dream if only we decide to listen to nature.

Also read: The Bio-architects of Mumbai – Put Your Hands Together

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