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Goonj Founder Visit

As the construction season is coming to an end with the onset of winter in Ladakh, HIAL is now emphasizing more on the need of plantations and renewable energy resources through the winters. To meet the growing requirements of energy in HIAL, an off-grid 20kW SPV system atop a car-shed structure was installed, probably the first in the Himalayas. The car-shed also has a provision of charging electric vehicles. The is in line with HIAL’s aim of promoting e-mobility in Ladakh.Parallelly, HIAL is nurturing the Apple-Apricot orchard and the Miyawaki plantations which has shown great durability so far.

However, last week has been quite lively with the launch of #ilivesimply movement and the visit of Anshu Gupta, Founder of Goonjwith his family.

live simply campaign

#ilivesimply Movement

Any project that has been taken up by Mr. Sonam Wangchuk or HIAL in the past, are based on the idea of being environmentally friendly. But as Mr. Wangchuk says “these works are just like small bandage solutions which will not even make a dent on the larger issue”. The problem does not lie in these mountains, the issue originates from the big cities. Unless the issue is attacked right at its origin, nothing significant can be achieved.

Therefore, to make a difference, we thought of launching a campaign on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which has a potential of making a large-scale change. The campaign, #ilivesimply, will be based on a crowd-sourcing initiative. However, rather than crowd-sourcing funds, individuals or organisations from around the world shall be expected to make ‘pledges’ oriented towards more sustainable practices and to adopt these practices into the new year 2020. These pledges would then be quantified in terms of COemissions, which can then be quantified into its corresponding value in terms of money. Pledges would range from ‘reducing the usage of single-use-plastics to planting 100 trees, reducing the consumption of meat to regulating the air conditioners as per accurate requirements’, so on and so forth. Each of these pledges would correspond to a definite amount. We are certainly anticipating shocking results as a realisation, that how much money can be saved just by making a small but significant change in our day-to-day lifestyle.

We are currently at the pre-campaign period, where we are inviting for partnerships with various environmental organisations, tech companies, media houses, data analytical experts, schools & colleges etc.

Anshu Gupta, Founder, Goonj

Founder of Goonj and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Mr.Anshu Gupta visited HIAL with his wife Meenakshi Gupta. They lodged in one of our Himalayan Farmstays for two days which was followed by their visit to Uleytokpo with Mr. Sonam Wangchuk and CEO, Gitanjali JB. While their stay at Phyang, in an elaborate interactive session with the HIAL members and HILLs fellows, they had a lot to share about the kind of work Goonj has been doing and how can we be a part of a productive contribution. He said that “poverty is an ongoing disaster” and emphasised on the fact that there is aclear distinction between ‘discarding’ and ‘donating’.Goonj envisions to grow as an idea across regions, economies and countries using urban discard as a tool to alleviate poverty and enhance the dignity of the poor in the world.

We had an enriching exchange with Mr. Anshu Gupta and his family and we are looking forward to collaborate with Goonj and its ideology in as many ways as possible in future.