Stree Mukti Sanghatana: Activities

The Parisar Vikas programme was launched in the year 1998 by the Stree Mukti Sanghatana with the cooperation of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The programme aims to address the problems of waste management and of self-employed women engaged in the ‘menial' tasks of collecting waste.

Women have been organized and are being trained in environmental entrepreneurship programme which includes skills in organic manure making, gardening, leadership development and formation of cooperatives, etc. They are also being helped in the education of their children, formation of saving groups, access to micro credit, health care and hygiene, and literacy skills.

Objectives of Parisar Vikas
• To organize and train women rag pickers
• To try and improve the standard of living of women rag pickers by understanding their problems
• To create a ‘Zero Waste' situation in our cities
• To keep our surroundings clean and green
• To help recycle waste appropriately
• To develop and use new techniques for the treatment of waste

Activities of Parisar Vikas
• Organizing and training women rag pickers and issuing identity cards to them
• Helping them form waste cooperatives
• Helping them establish self-help or micro-credit groups
• Helping them get the right price for the dry (recyclable) waste collected
• Imparting training to the women rag pickers in alternative skills such as gardening, vermiculture, etc.
• Promoting health awareness and education programmes
• Providing family counselling to distressed women

'Zero Waste' means…
Waste generated in your house is manageable waste. Do not send it to the dumping grounds. Segregate it at source into dry and wet waste. The wet waste goes to a manure pit near your locality. You can reuse it. The dry waste goes back to the manufacturer for recycling. What remains for the dumping ground is zilch!