Vatavaran is a nongovernmental, nonprofit, community
based organization registered in New Delhi as a Trust
[7224(book IV, vol. 494, pg 165 to 173) DT 08.09.1995].
Conceived in early1990’s as a model NGO to work on socio environmental
issues with all sections of the society through multi
pronged, down to earth approach.
Its emphasis has been to improve the lives of the under privileged,
poorest of the poor. We organize and train them, generate
employment, self respect and identities through individual
and community participation.
Uniqueness
1. Vatavaran is a group of individuals who
work at grass root level with passion and
commitment.
2. It identifies socio- environmental problems
of the society and tries to solve them with
the help of the communities.
3. It is like a catalyst. It sets schemes and
hands them over to communities
4. Vatavaran team is spiritually inclined and
Ghandian in approach
Vision
1. Create a fair, equal, environmentally
conscious and self-sustaining society.
2. Provide simple, replicable models to
complex socio environmental problems
by innovative solutions to ’ exploitation to
conservation’, ‘waste to wealth’, ‘barren to
green’ , ‘water less to water sufficient’ and,
‘dependant to empowered’etc
Work sectors
animal welfare
Work on monkeys in the wild and human habitation areas. The
director was a well-established Primatologist more than a
decade before the formation of Vatavaran. . The work has
continued since then.
Vatavaran undertook animal welfare studies for ‘either improve
zoos or close them’, ‘ban the use of animals in circuses’,
‘use of animals for testing of cosmetics etc.’
We also published many reports and flyers on issues
mentioned above and –monitoring animal teasers in the
zoo, snakes and snake charmers, living with monkeys and
understanding dog bites etc.
Solid waste management
The decentralized model of solid waste management started in
Asian games village in mid 90 was replicated in around 30
neighborhoods by 1999.
The model is to study the locality, train the local rag
pickers, collect waste from house to house, segregate
it (if not segregated by the house holders), compost the
biodegradable and send various recyclables to different
industries, thus making the locality Zero Garbage Area.
Once the work stabilizes, the management is handed over to
RWA.
Vatavaran converted JNU, UDSC and eight departments of North
Campus Delhi University into zero garbage areas.
It handed over waste Management Schemes in Asian Games
Village, 11 sectors of Vasant Kunj, SFS Triveni Sheikh Sarai,
Mahipalpur Complex, Defense Services Enclave, Sunder
Nagar, Pitampura, South Extension Part 2 Market and
Sector 15A Noida to respective RWAs.
We trained, helped, launched and monitored waste
management in Vikas Nagar- a low-income settlement
colony.
Developing self-sustaining areas and localities
1. Through reports, flyers, talks, street theatre and street
meetings.
2. Vatavaran’s 5R’s –Reject, Replace, Reduce, Reuse, and
Recycle;
3. Segregation of garbage, Worm pit, Management of plastics;
Paper conservation;
4. Creating colony forests,
5. Making of bio manure and leaf manure
6. Conservation of all resources specially power, water etc.
Awareness campaigns
Vatavaran started work in Shah Pur Jat as it was challenging
and no model existed. Many individuals and organizations
are working in rural villages but none in the urban villages.
We have taken up this challenging work and are collecting
base data on Shahpur Jat- a jungle of concrete.
Of all our work this one faced acute resistance because the
Congress Party’s Ex Mayor who did not let us start even a
waste management scheme.
We have not given up and our plans still are to make Shahpur
Jat a model urban village. Save its historic structures, solve
its water woes, improve roads, increase green spaces,
rectify mismanagement of solid wastes, introduce solar
lights, and rain water harvesting..
We will adopt integrated multidisciplinary approach to mitigate
the problems.
To activate the villagers we have started empowerment of the
women and that too of Balmiki Samaj first.
The team
Dr. Iqbal Malik, founder director
Prof. P.S. Sindhu, founder trustee // Vijay Bhan, founder trustee
Yashwant Singh, programme officer
..............................project officer
Vipin Dagore, junior project officer
Ravinder Singh, head supervisor // Raj Kumar, supervisor // Shashi Kumar, supervisor
Deepak Kumar, office assistant // Harinder Pawar, field assistant
Achievements
Vatavaran has innovative barter system schemes like ‘exchange
your waste paper with hand made paper and products of the
same value’, ‘ Ek mutti plastic do ek mutti khad lo’ , ‘koi bhi
recyclables do – thaila, sapling , potted plant lo
Vatavaran does not believe in big office and massive infra structure.
We are a team of four persons in the office of Shah Pur Jat. The
three personnel in the office get a small honorarium and I work
on voluntary basis.
Vatavaran handed over ‘ Waste to wealth’ scheme in Central Jail
Tihar to the inmates, and Worm pit to jawans at engineer’s
mess, Duala Kuan.
Vatavaran provided training on total waste management,
monitoring plastics, metals, glass, rubber etc to 15
organizations. 11 in Delhi and 4 from other parts of the country…
Indcare, Accord, Samarth, Development Alternatives, Navjyoti,
Disha, Deepalaya, ConcernIndia, Iffcord, RotaryEcoFoundation,
Inner wheel, Ecofriends of Kanpur, Vasavya Mahila Mandal
Andhra Pradesh, Clean Ahmedabad &Darjeeling Earth Group
It helped 14 educational institutes (6 colleges of Delhi University
and 8 schools) to set up paper management barter system
schemes.
It has received many awards, the most prestigious being “Best
Practices Awards by UNCHS (United Nations Cell on Human
Settlements) in the years 2000 and 2006.
