Saritha Sudhakaran, an urban designer who is based out of Goa with her flagship program ‘Wasteless Project’ helps people in reducing their waste in a 12 week curated project. Started in January 2019, she has completed six editions of this project and trained around 100 individuals who participated in these projects.
“Wasteless Project (WLP) is a 12 –week curated project where I handhold participants towards leading a sustainable lifestyle through the lens of traditional Indian wisdom that can be incorporated in today’s lifestyle. Activities such as – workshops, talks, trails, webinars, awareness sessions were conducted. Under this program, I handhold the participants guiding them with the information about the various sustainable solutions that will help them in leading an eco-friendly life,” said Saritha
“These sessions are like opening eyes and making them realize the correct way of living such as cooking sustainably, how they can make personal care products at home and also about sustainable fashion. This gives a holistic way to go wasteless and lead a sustainable life,”
She further said, “I have completed six editions of WLP and around 100 people have participated in these editions. However, at present, there are no such programs running and I mostly focus to create awareness with the help of social media.”
She has also worked as a consultant with various organisations such as Waste Management Corporation of Goa, City Corporation of Panjim among others. Saritha who has been creating awareness about sustainable lifestyle feels that social media is a good platform to spread knowledge. She said, “Social media is very convenient to us and as an individual, I learn a lot through it and therefore I feel that it must be helpful for others.”
Saritha feels that it is the collective responsibility of everyone including consumers and it is unfair to expect everything from the administration or the government. She said, “ It is unfair as consumers to expect “someone – in this case, the government” to take care of your mess.”
She further said, “It is important for the consumer to be conscious when it comes to deciding. As a consumer, it is important to understand your need and be aware that whatever you are consuming or buying is coming from where and where it will go. Consumers should realize the effects of their choice and make sustainable decisions.”
“ It is important to be aware of the impact of all your actions on the environment and don’t just choose to change only what suits you, if your really care about the environment,” Saritha said as she signs off.