Palanchathu Kuppam
As villages are fast “developing”, the waste generated in them is also increasing in amounts. Traditionally waste was purely organic matter, which could be composted in farms and in the backyards of the houses. With the waste becoming increasingly inorganic, village communities have been unable to handle them. Unlike the urban centers, villages have no system of collection and disposal of waste. Non-biodegradable waste is usually dumped in ponds, wells, vacant plots of land, canals, along roadsides and burnt causing air and groundwater pollution. EGC was given a small component of the Vellore District Rural Development Agency’s (DRDA) project in total sanitation in Palavanchathu village panchayat. 60% of the project funds came from the Central Government, 20% from the TN State Government and 20% from the village panchayat. EGC has converted this ‘small component’ in to a mega project, optimizing the resources provided.

Palavanchathu Village Panchayat has 3,600 families. There is one main supervisor for the entire village, who is also the trainer of the workers and other junior supervisors. The project employs 15 supervisors (women who have formed a Self-Help Group) and 22 workers (local male youth) who collect waste from door to door using 11 tricycles, and has 12 cattle.

Over the last 2 years since the project was launched, over 250 tonnes of compost (worth more than Rs. 9 lakhs) have been generated. The SHGs have now decided to start vermicomposting, which will fetch them higher incomes. Rs.10,000 is generated every month through the sale of recyclables alone.

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