a compilation of ecologically sensible study/pdf/cs...the global gloom got predictable companions -...

A compilation of

Ecologically Sensible

Good Practices

Imprints of Ecological Footprints ….

A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices

Aug 2016

Authors:

MV Rama Chandrudu

Beneta Mahanta

Waseem Mohammad

Anitha Reddy V

MB Vali Saab

Editors:

K Suresh

MV Rama Chandrudu

Visuals:Cheriyal Nakashi Artists Family - Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members

Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D Rakesh (sons).

Design and Layout : Ankush

Copy Left : These case studies could be used for non-commercial use, with proper

acknowledgement.

Supported by : Indian Foundation for Humanistic Development, Bengaluru

Produced by : WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network)

Produced for Leaders For Nature Program.

This program is collectively organized by

CII; Hivos; IUCN; Wild Life Trust of India.

IFHD is anchoring the Leaders for Nature Program.

Published by: IFHD, Bengaluru

Acknowledgements

I am very happy to present "Imprints of Ecological Footprints …. A compilation of

Ecologically Sensible Good Practices".

I take this opportunity to thank all organizations and individuals who contributed to

the process of documenting these good practices. They were kind to frankly share with us

their experiences, thoughts, challenges and achievements. They also shared relevant data

to substantiate any critical point from their experiences. Some of them even prepared the

first drafts of these case studies. They also revised them, based on our feedback. All the

organizations/ individuals happily gave consent for publishing these case studies and using

them for learning purposes under "Leaders for Nature" program of IFHD, IUCN, CII, Hivos

and Wild Life Trust of India. The entire process of producing this compilation was an enriching

and fruitful experience. It is also a humbling experience for us to learn several lessons from

these interactions and visits to several villages/ sites. We genuinely believe that this

compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders for Nature" program.

The Writeshop was one of the important events of this process. We got guidance and

feedback on the '0' drafts from the participants of the writeshop. This was useful in refining

the initial drafts. The participants of writeshop also made important suggestions on the

presentation and utility of these case studies. From their busy schedules, they spared few

days for refining these case studies, which is a very kind gesture. I thank everyone who

participated in the writeshop. Their inputs are invaluable.

I thank Ms. Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD for having faith in WASSAN and entrusting us

the responsibility of compiling these case studies. She is an active team member at all critical

stages of the project and guided us on choice of case studies, structure/ framework,

presentation, etc. The partnership with IFHD is really cherished by all of us, at WASSAN.

I also thank the family of artists of Cheriyal - Shri D Vaikuntam, Mrs D Vanaja, Mr D

Vinay and D Rakesh, who visualized these experiences in their own unique style.

My team -MB Vali, Anitha Vustela, Waseem Mohammad, Benita Mahanta, Radhashree

who spent considerable time on this agenda. I also thank K Suresh for providing editorial

inputs and support at various stages of this process.

MV Rama Chandrudu

WASSAN

Aug 2016

Foreword

It is almost three decades back, the threats to "Our Common Future" were formally

identified and deliberations started gaining more steam and support from governments

too… (Our Common Future,Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1987). Climate Change and its

implications were also slowly getting recognized during this period. The need for "producing

more with less" was also part of this thinking process, as a means to address the challenges

of the future. Over a period of time, the world witnessed more economic distress,

unemployment, political turmoil and ecological disasters across different countries and

regions of world. Those early predictions seemed to be less threatening than the current

reality. The global gloom got predictable companions - unscrupulous industrial growth,

irresponsible urbanization, careless global politics, dishonest governments, self-centric

citizenship, which tried to glorify the current trends as achievements and inevitable solutions.

In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of Ecological

Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices" is a compendium of good

practices that brings the efforts made by relentless civil society organizations, citizens and

community based organizations, to change the direction of this trend. These experiences

bring cheer and hope in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India,

who are part of these experiences. They were able to take a different path that is less travelled

and troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But they

continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is possible. They also

ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable processes are feasible for

improving economic standards and quality of life of poor communities.

These case studies give a hope and confidence that we can face the cruel world and

transform the same into a comfortable place for all - including endangered species, poor

and marginalized communities. While Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining more support

from governments, corporate agencies and development agencies, these experiences provide

guidance and help them to think about alternatives. These experiences help the willing and

discerning development agencies and investors in social change, to transcend the mundane

"photo stories" of majority of current CSR interventions. They provide an array of options,

strategies and ideas that proved themselves in different parts of the country.

I thank all the organizations and agencies who shared their stories - highs and lows of

it, with us frankly and completely. I thank them for providing leadership on the chosen theme

- promoting biodiversity; conservation and governance of natural resources; promoting

ecologically sensitive production processes; enhancing livelihoods by developing

environmentally harmonious economic models and several others. These experiences are

invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking thoughts in the minds of participants of

"Leaders for Nature" programs, which are jointly organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life

Trust of India, HIVOS and other like-minded organizations. I thank WASSAN for producing

this compilation of case studies and supporting us in this endeavor.

Aruna Rangachar Pohl

IFHD, Bengaluru

Aug 2016

243

Green Hotel for Green Funds…

"…I came with my wife, who is part of "Knit for Peace" program… I

stayed in The Green Hotel in Mysore for last one week. I have a

wonderful experience staying here. The staff is helpful, food is excellent…

room is clean and everything is good here…. I understand little bit about

the charity work that is done here.... some part of the fees goes towards

the development projects in Mysore and India. We visited some schools

and other projects that are associated with The Green Hotel. It is such a

nice idea that a hotel is supporting welfare programs and I would

encourage my friends to visit this place…" Alan Judd, England (Jan 2016).

Alan is a first time visitor to India. He got an opportunity to be part of an

innovative development aid that is built on strong values of sharing and

caring. Like him, several other visitors to India from all over the world and

also several Indians come and stay in "The Green Hotel" in Mysore,

Karnataka and discover a new way of changing lives. No wonder this hotel

has been selected as one of the "World's Best Ideas" by the Institute of

Social Inventions, London.

22


Imprints of Ecological Footprints …244

Come, stay at The Green Hotel. Be comfortable.

Financing development, welfare and conservation activities has

always been a challenge. It is generally assumed to be the responsibility

of governments and corporates. Are there alternative ways of funding

development? Can this funding source be sustainable? Can this be an

enterprise? Can a common citizen be part of this process? Can this

enterprise also be supportive to environmental sustainability? These are

some of the questions that lingered in the mind of Dame Hilary Blume,

London. While visiting India during early 1990s, she was exploring ways

and means of finding 'sustainable enterprises'. She was trying to connect

dots that everyone thought was impossible. But that was the challenge

she accepted. The Green Hotel is a resounding success and a new model

that is running since 1990.

Dame Hilary Blume is a strong proponent of environmental

sustainability and conservation. She thought that a good hotel could

support "sustainable enterprises" of underprivileged communities.

However, the services and facilities at the hotel have to be exceptionally

different and should communicate the core values and principles of the

initiative - environmental sustainability and conservation. She understood

that Indian cities are losing their character in the fast pace of development.

The architecture, environment, natural resources, urban landscapes are

victims of this development process. There is a need for conserving urban

settlements and make them environmentally sustainable. After

considerable exploration in different cities of India, she narrowed down

to Mysore city, where she could find a place - Chittarnajan Palace. This

palace was a film studio during 1950-70. Over a period of time, the studio

became dysfunctional. It was almost in a dilapidated condition. In 1990

245

Governance of Green Hotel

The Green Hotel was set up as a model

of sustainable tourism by the UK based

Charities Advisory Trust under the leadership

of Dame Hilary Blume. The governance of The

Green Hotel offers some innovative practices.

The Green Hotel is owned by The Greenways

Company, which is held in Charities Advisory

Trust, UK. The majority shares are owned by

the Charities Advisory Trust with token shares

by the Directors. This means that the hotel is

not driven by share-holder values, but by the

principles of Charities Advisory Trust. All the

directors are honorary and do not receive any

remuneration for their time.This Green Hotel

established an Indian Charitable Trust -

"Tzedkah Trust". This trust receives grants

from The Green Hotel and supports

development and welfare activities. A board

of directors/ trustees of this trust are Dame

Hilary Blume, Mr Brij Bhasin, Stan Thekaekara

and Mari Marcel Thekaekara (ACCORD,

Gudalur). These members oversee the

management and governance of the hotel and

associated development/ welfare projects.

Some of the partners of Tzedkah Trust also

have organic linkages with "Good Gifts"

initiative of Charities Advisory Trust, UK.

Dame Hilary Blume could get

this building for a long term

lease and the idea of the

green hotel started

becoming a reality.

The building was

renovated without losing its

original charm. The palace

was restored to bring back

the natural comfort. All

rooms were carefully

designed with furniture,

decorative articles and other

necessities. Good and clean

washrooms were provided.

Furniture, equipment and

other decorative items/

artefacts were procured

from national award winning

craftsmen and women of

India. This added a different

flavour to the décor of the

hotel. In accordance with the

principles of environmental

sustainability, none of the

rooms have air conditioners.


247

But all rooms are comfortable with natural ventilation and fans. The hotel

also established its hybrid solar and grid power system to meet the entire

energy needs of the hotel. Incidentally, this was the first solar unit in

Mysore.

When Blume leased-in this palace, the open space was almost barren

but for few trees. This place is now converted into a nice and functional

garden, where guests can relax under the tree shade. The garden also has

dining place and most visitors like to spend their time in the garden.

Rainwater from roofs/ campus is harvested for recharging the groundwater.

Thus the groundwater resources were augmented and the hotel is

independent of municipal water supply system. The waste water from the

hotel is re-used to nurture the trees in the garden. No wonder this garden

received best garden award for several years from Mysore Horticulture

Society. With this, other hotels in the city started gardens in their campuses.

Majority of the hotel staff come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The staff is adequately trained and has relevant skills in running the hotel

and offering variety of services. The staff is very supportive and caring

about the guests. They demonstrate traditional values of hospitality, which

is difficult to find in regular hotels. The hotel identified young women from

disadvantageous backgrounds and trained them as bakers. These women

run "The Coffee Shop" of the hotel, which has an attached bakery. The

women bake a variety of delicious items which are included in the hotel

menu.

The Green Hotel follows the principles of fair employer. All staff

members have statutory benefits such as provident fund, etc. It is

interesting to note that 1% of salaries of the staff is also contributed to


249

charity, which is decided by the staff each year. There is hardly any turnover

of the staff in the hotel.

The Green Hotel also provides a platform for showcasing and selling

green products from farmers, tribals and artisans. Every year Green Melas

are conducted in the campus, which are attended by large numbers.

Over the period, The Green Hotel built its credibility and there is a

sustained flow of guests from different parts of India and world. This

increased the financial health of the hotel and thus it is able to contribute

development aid for sustainable enterprises. The Green Hotel supported

various development agencies - NGOs, Community Based Organizations,

schools, hospitals and others. These projects are also varied - improving

education and health; conservation and environmental development;

enterprises. Until now, The Green Hotel provided about Rs150 Million of

development aid to different partners. Rural Literacy and Health Program

(RLHP, Mysore) and Shola Trust (Gudalur, Nilgiris) are the prominent

partners of The Hotel.

RLHP has focus on urban issues since long and recently it started

working in rural areas also. RLHP gets a grant of about Rs. 8 to 12 lakhs per

year (Rs. 2 to 3 lakhs from The Green Hotel and Rs. 6 to 9 Lakhs from

Charities Advisory Trust, UK). With this continued financial aid for more

than 10 years, RLHP is able to support a variety of welfare and development

activities in Mysore town and neighbourhood: improving educational

standards of children in urban slums; shelter homes for children; sanitation

facilities to families in urban slums and related issues. There is a clear

focus on overall development of children and rights of child in these

initiatives.



It is interesting to see how the partnership between Shola Trust and

The Green Hotel (through Tzedakah Trust) is able to trigger conservation

and biodiversity related initiatives in Gudalur region of Nilgiris. The Sholas

are a mosaic of evergreen forests and grasslands. They are found only in

high altitude regions (>1500 metres above mean sea level) and are limited

to the southern part of the Western Ghats. They are characterised by

undulating grassland patches, interspersed with thickets of stunted

evergreen tree species, and are home to a host of endemic and endangered

plants and animals. They are also vital in the water cycle. They retain most

of the rain water during the monsoon, and release it slowly throughout

the year through streams and rivers that serve the needs of a large number

of human settlements in the region. Despite the huge ecological

significance; they have not been protected as the short, stunted trees have

little or no timber value. Vast areas in the Sholas were planted with

Cinchona and Eucalyptus monocultures over the last decades. And the

grasslands continue to be encroached by expanding human populations.

With support from The Green Hotel (Tzedakah Trust), Shola Trust

has bought privately owned patches of Shola forests that are in wildlife

'corridor' and 'buffer areas'. These lands are used for growing nurseries to

regenerate Shola species, particularly those species which are not available

in mainstream nurseries and that are hard to grow. These nurseries also

provide a space to educate people about the importance of the Shola

forests. The funding also allows engaging in some restoration work - to

bring back forests to a healthy state. Shola Trust collaborated with local

educational institutions and other agencies for generating awareness on

importance of conserving Shola forests.


As part of its overall mandate, Shola Trust is engaged with a variety

of initiatives in protecting rich biodiversity of Shola Forests - action research

projects that focus on nature of interface between wild life and human

beings in the Gudalur Forest Division; documenting the contribution of

traditional practices associated with sacred groves in Gudalur region

towards conservation and sustaining biodiversity. In these initiatives, the

Shola Trust collaborates with variety of other partners/ donors. "…the

partnership with The Green Hotel (Tzedakah Trust) is built on two way

communication process… Shola Trust received about Rs 26 Lakhs grant

from The Green Hotel so far… The funding has been very flexible, allowing

us to plan and implement our work with significant autonomy. Thus we

are able to change and adapt to the realities of engaging with conservation

projects on the ground. This funding support helps to address some of

the critical issues and support "out of box" solutions…" Mr Tarsh

Thekaekara (Shola Trust) reflects on the nature of relationship between

Shola Trust and The Green Hotel (and Tzedakah Trust). All partners of The

Green Hotel (Tzedakah Trust) share similar relationships with The Green

Hotel, which make this hotel a unique development facilitator.

A typical visitor or a traveller, biting lemon drizzle cake and sipping

fresh lime juice in the Coffee Shop, may not be conscious of all these efforts

and their impact. But those travellers who are conscious of their role in

this process are able to realize that they are actually contributing to

development aid, without much sacrifice. In fact, they enjoy the type of

services they get at The Green Hotel. The sublime brilliance of the idea is

in the bill that each traveller pays at the hotel which is actually creating a

green fund for green initiatives. While the new Act by Government of

India mandates the corporate agencies to share 2% of their profits towards

253

Corporate Social Responsibility, the practicalities of this idea are still

evolving. But here we have a live example where a corporate entity which

is sharing its 100% profits with less privileged members since several years.

Can the corporates go the green way?

MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN

Based on the narration by Dame Hilary Blume, The Green Hotel;

interactions with staff; meeting with Mr Nagendra, RLHP, Mysore;

inputs from Mr Stan Thekaekara, ACCORD and Mr Tarsh Thekaekara,

Shola Trust; and web page of Shola Trust.



About Cheriyal Paintings

Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D

Rakesh (sons) are keeping the tradition of Cheriyal Paintings of Telangana state, for

generations. All members of the family are engaged in protecting and conserving this

rare art form, that is not likely to survive for long. This is the only family in the country

that is still engaged in this traditional art form. The Cheriyal Art has a unique character

- red color background; vivid presentation of figures (men, women, animals, flowers,

plants and others) with unique strokes and style. This art form belongs to "nakashi"

form of paintings in India. But Cheriyal paintings contextualized this nakashi format to

local Telangana and improvised it, with their unique styles. Apart from paintings and

scrolls, Cheriyal Masks are also very attractive and unique with their bright colors and

large eyes. D Vaikuntam received several awards from Central/ State governments,

for his unique contribution to Cheriyal Art.

D Vaikuntam and his family members agreed to present the key messages of

these case studies. They spent time with us to understand the essence of each case

study and presented it in their own style. These pictures further enriched the

experiences, which are already exemplary in several ways. WASSAN thanks the family

of artists of Cheriyal for their support in visualising these case studies.

Pictures of some of the paintings/ scrolls and masks could be seen on this blog:

http://vaikuntamnakash.blogspot.in/

254 Imprints of Ecological Footprints …

"…..In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of

Ecological Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices"

is a compendium of good practices that brings the efforts made by relentless

civil society organizations, citizens and community based organizations, to

change the direction of the trend. These experiences brought cheer and hope

in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India, who are

part of these experiences. They took a different path that is less travelled and

troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But

they continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is

possible. They also ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable

processes are feasible for improving economic standards and quality of life of

poor communities…"Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD, Bangaluru.

"……these experiences are invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking

thoughts in the minds of participants of "Leaders for Nature" programs, which

is organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life Trust of India, HIVOS and other like-

minded organizations.The entire process of producing this compilation was an

enriching and fruitful experience. It is a humbling experience for us to learn

lessons from the interactions and visits to their villages/ sites. We genuinely

believe that this compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders

for Nature" program" - MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN

a compilation of ecologically sensible study/pdf/cs...the global gloom got predictable companions -...

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