School taught Mansi Jain much more than math, science and literature. It was also where she first became acutely aware of the challenges associated with urban development and resource scarcity.  "We had a really great sustainability teacher who instilled fear around sustainability issues in us quite early," Mansi recalls. Her family background also played a significant role, as her father was deeply involved in sustainability, and their household conversations often revolved around topics such as plastic waste and the need for waste segregation in cities. In school, Mansi was actively i ..read more

In an innovative leap towards sustainable practices, a Bill Gates-backed startup, Epic Cleantec, is revolutionising the way we think about wastewater. Through their groundbreaking project, Epic OneWater Brew, they've managed to turn wastewater from everyday activities like showering, laundry, and using the sink into drinkable beer. This effort not only showcases an inventive use of recycled water but also aims to broaden the conversation about water sustainability and reuse. Pioneering Water Reuse Epic OneWater Brew emerges from the need to address global water scarcity by repurposing the so ..read more

In a celebration of water, life, and sustainability, India’s first carbon-neutral festival, Jal Utsav, was held from November 15-25 at Het Ni Haveli, Lathi Dudhali in Gujarat’s Amreli district. Presented by the Dholakia Foundation in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat, the water-themed festival addressed diverse issues focusing on water conservation, while offering various activities to visitors in a carnival-like atmosphere. It was inaugurated by Bhupendrabhai Patel, the Chief Minister of Gujarat; and Governor of the State Acharya Devvrat. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minis ..read more

When Seetharam Muthangi’s eldest sister developed diabetic retinopathy—an eye condition that causes blindness in people with diabetes, the doctors couldn’t do much and she lost her vision. The IIT-Kanpur graduate then got the idea for Smart Vision Glasses to help people with vision impairment make their daily activities less tedious.   His invention is an assistive device attached to the side of the eyeglasses and equipped with a camera, Lidar tech, a Bluetooth microphone, and a small speaker to help the user read, navigate, and recognise objects. It works for people who suffer fro ..read more

The 97-year-old Little Flower Convent—a school for 500 visually and hearing-impaired children in Chennai—recently became a centre for City of 1000 Tanks, an innovative programme based on nature-inspired water conservation and established through the Water as Leverage (WaL) method.   WaL—a programme spanning India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh—is a methodology developed by the Netherlands government with international partners.  It has recognised that a result-driven, holistic, and inclusive project preparation approach is the best way to create scalable and sustainable solutions ..read more

Like most architects, Madhu Manjari was designing bungalows and farmhouses for an elite urban clientele. After working in architecture firms for three years, she realised that her heart lay elsewhere. Around the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, 27-year-old Manjari decided to leave architecture and turned to conservation.  Manjari started volunteering at Cuckoo Forest School, a not-for-profit group of agriculturists, environmentalists, and journalists, in Singarapettai near Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Manjari says, “I resonated with a whole bunch of youngsters at Cuckoo that the firs ..read more

The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2023. This MoU signed for a three year period, will look to strengthen economic, scientific, commercial, legislative, and technological coordination in sustainability, energy and water efficiency, and conservation, as per a statement. It will also help enhance coordination and exchange of information between both parties. They will also be involved in looking for opportunities related to a number of areas from demand side ..read more

In 2019, Chennai, one of the world's wettest major cities, ran out of water. The human-made catastrophe has gone down in the history of Chennai as ‘Day Zero’ as the government trucked in 10 million liters to help 11 million inhabitants survive a day without water. While the people of Chennai struggled for water in 2019, they regularly dread the northeast monsoons that flood the city.  ‘Day Zero’ merely scratches the surface of what lies ahead for humanity should climate change and fast-depleting freshwater is not addressed on priority. Chennai stands as a stark example of the fact that ..read more

Sixty kilometres away from bustling Chennai lies Satyavedu, a tiny, industrial hamlet nestled on the border between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. With a population of 52,000, it is home to marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and daily wage earners. With the average temperature in summer hovering around 42 degrees, water is scarce in this region. When wells dry, women trudge for kilometres to find potable water for their daily needs and open wells to source water for cooking and bathing. This acute water shortage had severe consequences. Girls had to drop out of school because there w ..read more

Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta ..read more