Connecting the dots in the circular economy

The Hindu

31-05-2025

Sometimes, one discovers with amused wonder that someone integral to one's landscape and therefore inconspicuous, is pitted in the same battlefield as an ally by default. And the discovery extends to the fact that what they do can be a helpful tie-in to one's own work.
Kavitha Sivakumar, a resident of a gated community in Pallikaranai, recently added this truth to her worldview, thanks to a casual conversation with a neighbourhood kabadiwallah, Suryagandhi Kumar. She found out he welcomes sirattai — coconut shell — into his storing house in Pallikaranai, and when a substantial amount of it is aggregated, sells the pile.
Kavitha works with Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF), and she realised straightaway that Suryagandhi and his ilk could further a NOF initiative.
Ever since the team at NOF realised coconut shells go into the making of activated charcoal, useful in water purification, and that there are entities looking for sirattai for the same purpose, Sustainable Sirattai Campaign was born, its details spelt out by NOF founder Natarajan.
Recently, NOF notched up 150 kg of coconut shells, having aggregated it for a while, notes Kavitha. The source of coconut shells is currently restaurants. Kavitha now advocates empowering local scrap dealers as aggregators of coconut shells, educating residents on cleaning and storing the shells, and tapping into apartments for them.
'The biggest hurdle is connecting the dots between households, collectors and buyers. Without proper segregation, most shells end up in dumping grounds.'
Hygiene concerns such as mould and pests also deter scrap dealers from collecting shells, she adds.
Collecting sirattai, Suryagandhi comes across as an outlier. He buys them at Rs 10 per kilogram and selling at a small profit. 'Sirattai is used to make activated charcoal, which helps in melting gold,' he explains. Though only a few households contribute regularly, the numbers are growing.
Every piece of fabric matters
A massive part of humanity would give the thumbs up to this observation. College education of the first water and a remarkable career need not put one on the path to finding what they are born to do. The boat might have to change tack to find suitable moorings. Vijayalakshmi is a trained economist, landing a prestigious job early on, one that allowed her to operate in the foreign exchange department of a respected company. It requires some prodding to get her to talk about her stellar education and an enviable early career, but none at all about her current work profile — maker of multifarious artisanal items, including fabric jewellery. Following marriage, she decided to give up on her career only to find it in an unlikely field. Her leisure consumed by self-learning, she would soon announce her arrival as a self-taught artisan, one adept in beaded jewellery, paper quilling, crochet, and finally fabric accessories, particularly fabric jewellery.
People who know Vijayalakshi would use an epithet to describe her — 'creative'. Fabric jewellery is closer to her heart as it is the ne plus ultra of creativity. Truth to tell, but for a piece of small talk, she would not have taken up fabric jewellery-making the way she did.
Enter Ganga Sridhar, a resident of Mandaveli, a sustainability campaigner and a connoisseur of upcycling-based fashion. An aficionada of Vijayalakshmi's delicate fabric accessories, Ganga gave Vijayalakshmi small-sized fabric pieces, leftovers of cloth that became her kurtis and urged her, 'Can you turn these into earrings or bangles?'
That small conversation sparked a creative chain reaction. During COVID, matching masks became the norm, and Ganga took it a notch hight. She would keep sending fabric to Vijayalakshmi to create accessories that perfectly matched her outfits (and of course, masks too). The idea quickly blossomed into a full accessory line — earrings, necklaces, bangles — all lightweight, affordable, and eco-friendly. 'It is exciting to get exactly what you want by recycling fabric instead of settling for store-bought accessories,' Ganga says. 'I have recommended Viji's work to many. It is a simple idea with a big impact.'
After years into it, Vijayalakshmi passes her verdict on fabric jewellery: 'easy to make, profitable and loved by customers.'