Supported By:

Annual Report(April 2019 - March 2020)

Waste Warriors CorbettThe Corbett Landscape, Uttarakhand

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ABOUT WASTE WARRIORS● Waste Warriors is a solid waste management NGO that was founded in

2012. We are a registered society that works through a combination of direct action initiatives, awareness-raising and community engagement programs, local advocacy, and long-term collaborative partnership with various government bodies.

OUR MISSION● Our mission is to develop sustainable solid waste management systems by

being a catalyst for community-based decentralized initiatives in rural, urban, and protected areas, and to pioneer replicable models of waste management, innovative practices in awareness and education, and to formalize and improve the informal livelihoods and stigmatized conditions of waste workers.

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About Waste Warriors

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Working Towards The UN SDGs

The Waste Warriors Corbett team is focused on empowering the village communities around the Corbett landscape to adopt collaborative, responsible, and sustainable practices in their lives, which are directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 17.

Good Health and Well-being: Aiming towards SDG 3 was one of the primary objectives of this project by helping communities clean-up their areas and discouraging people from dumping and open-air burning of their waste.

Quality Education: Through our Children’s Day awareness programs, we aimed to instill a sense of responsibility towards personal and environmental health and teaching children about how their waste disposal can affect the future.

Clean Water and Sanitation: Our efforts discourage people from dumping waste in rivers and streams, and we provide and maintain water filters in our member schools for the children to have clean and portable drinking water.

Decent Work and Economic Growth: By providing safe and respectable working conditions and by providing livelihood to our SHG members through SWM, we want everyone working with waste to achieve SDG 8.

Sustainable Cities and Communities: We believe SDG 11 will be realised by bringing behavioural change to community members through awareness raising activities and by developing effective SWM systems.

Responsible Consumption & Production: SDG 12 is the core of our adult awareness programs and we are regularly and tirelessly urging residents and businesses to manage their waste better by practicing the 5 R’s of SWM.

Climate Action: Our efforts to prevent mixing of recyclable and organic waste, to promote composting of food/horticultural waste, and to prevent burning of any kind of waste directly reduces harmful greenhouse gases generated.

Life On Land: The Corbett landscape has hundreds of species of flora and fauna, including keystone species like tigers, so working for SDGs 3, 4, 6, 11 and 12 helps these sensitive ecosystems, thereby supporting SDG 15 as well.

Partnerships for the Goals: Lastly, we believe in building strong and long-term partnerships between local authorities and marginalized and underserved communities. The efforts under SDG 17 are a key component of our work.

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Background On The Corbett Landscape:● Corbett National Park was established in 1936 to protect the endangered Bengal Tiger. The

park, with a diverse landscape, is also home to Leopards, Elephants and an array of fauna and contains 488 different species of plants. Of the 1300 bird species in the Indian subcontinent, over 600 are found across the Corbett Landscape.

● Waste Warriors Corbett Project was initiated in October 2013 with the aim to change the waste strewn environment of the famed Corbett Tiger Reserve, which is located in the Western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India.

Waste Management In & Around Corbett:The number of domestic and international tourists visiting Corbett has swelled from 45,215[1] in 1991 to a whopping ~2,00,000[2] in 2019. In the face of such a hefty floating population rise, the biggest challenge remains management of disproportionately huge amounts of solid waste generated by villagers, the hotel industry and tourists who visit the Corbett landscape. With the rising population, the amount of waste generated is increasing exponentially as well; yet, the overall waste collection and disposal practices have remained rather abysmal.

ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth & Waste Warriors CorbettThis partnership between IFIG and Waste Warriors started in April 2019. Through this support, Waste Warriors Corbett has been able to conduct door-to-door waste collection in 6 villages and community cleanups and awareness programs in 9 villages. Moreover, this support allowed us to initiate these activities in Dotiyal, a village where our team had not worked in before.

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Project Overview

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Picture by: Nikita Khamparia

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The Waste Warriors team has been in regular contact with local authorities and community members and have conducted regular awareness programs. Through meetings with adults and children, our aim is to convince community members in 9 villages (Aamdanda, Chukum, Devichaura, Dotiyal, Jameria, Kunwarpur Gebua, Padampur Gebua, Sanker and Sunderkhal, within Nainital and Almora Districts) to participate in the restart of regular door-to-door waste collection for their villages. The goal was for them to contribute to a monthly user-fee that would promote the long-term sustainability of cleanliness and waste management in their villages. To empower community members, all the field work was being managed by local self-help groups (SHGs) with regular training, mentoring and monitoring provided by the Waste Warriors Corbett team.

Our strategic approach while onboarding a village into our system is as follows:

1. To build effective, efficient and sustainable solid waste management solutions around national parks and other protected areas in India.

2. To raise awareness among community members, schools, homes, shops, government departments, hotels and other tourism outfits.

3. To provide a sustainable solid waste management system to each member in the society.4. To improve living standards of the community members.5. To increase the livelihood options for the local community members.

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Our Objectives

Our Strategies

Ribbon cutting in Sunderkhal village by the Gram Pradhan, Chandan Ramji - June 2019

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Awareness-Raising and Education

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Implementing Solid Waste Management systems

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Improving Living Standards & Increasing Livelihood Opportunities

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MINAKSHI PANDEY(INITIATOR AND ADVISOR)

NAVIN KUMAR(OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR)

PAWAN KUMAR(OPERATIONS MANAGER)

THE WASTE WARRIORS CORBETT TEAM

JITENDRA KUMAR(OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR)

PUSPENDU MANDAL(PROJECT MANAGER)(Jan 2020 onwards)

GEETA DHYANI(AWARENESS SUPERVISOR)

BHUWAN CHANDRA(ASST. ADMIN, HR &

ACCOUNTS)

PRADEEP KUMAR(AWARENESS SUPERVISOR)

KIRAN DEVI(OFFICE ASSISTANT)

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SONI BISHT(OFFICE ASSISTANT)

MANOJ KOHLI(OPERATIONS ASSISTANT)

(Till April 2019)

NIKITA KHAMPARIA(PROJECT MANAGER)

(Till Nov 2019)

PRACHI GUPTA(ASST. PROJECT MANAGER)

(Till Oct 2019)

SHYAMA DEVI(OFFICE ASSISTANT)

(Till Sep 2019)

THE WASTE WARRIORS CORBETT TEAM

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Jasoda Devi(Chukam SHG)

MEMBERS OF SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGs)

Lalita Devi(Chukam SHG)

Pushpa Devi(Chukam SHG)

Leela Devi(Chukam SHG)

Sunita Devi(Ringora SHG)

Indra Devi(Ringora SHG)

Khasti Devi(Ringora SHG)

Khimuli Devi(Ringora SHG)

Sudha Devi(Sunderkhal SHG)

Kusum Devi(Sunderkhal SHG)

Hema Devi(Sunderkhal SHG)

Pooja Upadhyay(Ringora SHG)

Vimla Devi(Sunderkhal SHG)

Kunti Devi(Dotiyal SHG)

Jhupli Devi(Dotiyal SHG)

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Our Achievements

Waste Warriors Corbett Project Activities Targeted Achieved

1 Children’s Days (awareness programs) in 17 member schools 28 33

2 Clean-up events with community members 24 33

3 Member locations where DTD waste collection was restarted 9 6

4 Adult awareness sessions in member locations 12 34

5 Transformation of public sites in member locations 4 4

6 Roadside awareness sign board installations (with ICICI logo) 18 17

7Meetings with key stakeholders (Govt. Depts, Scrap Dealers, Hotels, and other private establishments) to initiate SWM in member villages

NA 67

8 Publications on waste management 10 10

Please visit Targets, Activities and Achievements for the Waste Warriors Corbett IFIG Project April 2019 to March 2020 for further details.

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CDkmGY6dKxKSPo-qQh0dMtdNquQwSdtoOnSt3oI6_VA/edit?usp=sharinghttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CDkmGY6dKxKSPo-qQh0dMtdNquQwSdtoOnSt3oI6_VA/edit?usp=sharing

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Our Impact

Children’s Day at Govt. Upper Primary School,

Sunderkhal

Clean-up drive at Dotiyal village

School wall transformation in

GIC Dhikuli

Signboard installation at Ramnagar Road,

Dotiyal.

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6In Sunderkhal, Devichaura, Gebua Padampur, Gebua Kunwarpur, Dotiyal, & Sanker.Villages Now With SWM

Adults Participated

Waste Collected

Children Trained

17,931kgs

Recyclables, non-recyclables, and organic waste collected

and segregated from 9 villages.

1434

1859 777Who we approached to onboard in our awareness programs and SWM systems.

Homes, Schools & Shops

Cleanup ParticipantsFrom various communities participated in our 33 cleanup drives this past year.

In our adult awareness programs on SWM for communities this past year.

Through 33 Children’s Day awareness programs on SWM this past year.

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Success Stories

With support from ICICI Foundation and through regular awareness raising sessions, we were able to convince more than 64% people from 6 villages to become a part of our door-to-door waste collection system.

With the help of ICICI Foundation, we also introduced mushroom cultivation training sessions in Sundekhal, thereby building trust. As a result, more than 65% of the community members are actively participating in regular door-to-door waste collection at present.

Dotiyal, a new addition to our list of member villages is located away from our usual area of work. Through sheer hard work 60% of the people are now part of our SWM system.

The team assisted the local block authorities in managing waste during Marchula Mahotsav 2019 event that was organized by SDM Sult. The purpose of this festival was to provide a platform to the local youth, artists and SHGs to promote the traditional culture of Uttarakhand (Marchula being the marketplace for the nearby villages like Sanker).

The Waste Warriors team was invited by SDM Sult to handle the waste management of this event. This was the first time we were approached by a government official, which surely was an indication of positive recognition of our efforts.

In addition to assisting them in managing waste, the Waste Warriors team did daily cleanup with local volunteers. We had also set up an awareness stall where information on Solid Waste Management was provided to upto 150 people per day in this 3-day event.

From the member villages who now participate in our SWM system and contribute user fees.

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Waste (including organic and dry waste) collected and properly segregated.

349kgs

Starting SWM systems in Member Villages

Marchula Mahotsav

Paying Community Members DONE

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Success Stories

We have set up several WhatsApp groups where village members could share and exchange information on ground operations that happened on a regular basis. Similar groups were also created to help schools coordinate and effectively manage their waste management operations.

Information sharing is also a key component of our monthly SHG meetings. As the requirement rises, we conduct skill development training sessions with these ladies. They have also been trained on how to use WhatsApp as a service and capture and share images of ground operations through our monthly SHG training sessions. A smartphone has been provided to RSHG to help them coordinate with us and share updates on their day-to-day activities.

SHG women trained on SWM, skill development, community interaction, etc.

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Waste collected by our team, including organic and dry waste.

1679kgs

Communications with the Community

Event Waste Management at the6th Uttarakhand Spring Bird Festival

Attendees made aware on the best practices of SWM.674

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This 3-day festival is organized by the Uttarakhand Forest Department, and its purpose is to popularize Uttarakhand as a bird conservation state and as a bird-watching destination.

For the 6th edition of the festival, Waste Warriors was their implementing partner for event SWM with the goal of making this a zero-waste event.

The WWC team handled waste management in the 3 event locations (Chunakhan, Choti Haldwani and Pawalgarh) for 3 days. The team also conducted cleanups before and after the event dates to ensure cleanliness of the sites.

Through our awareness stall and various information boards, awareness on Solid Waste Management was provided to everyone attending this festival (approx. people).

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Testimonials

Maya Goswami, Village Pradhan, Padampur Gebua

Virendra Kumar, Chhota Bheem Maggi Point Owner, Sunderkhal

Bhagwant Singh Tadiyal, Interim Principal, Junior High School, Sanker

“The work being done by Waste Warriors Corbett team in Padampur Gebua village is of utmost importance. The village has seen many changes since Waste Warriors started working here. People are doing proper waste segregation (organic and inorganic) and they are maintaining cleanliness around their houses. I like how the team works together in keeping our village clean.”

“Waste Warriors has been spreading awareness in schools, villages and markets and educating people about waste management (Reduce Reuse & Recycle) and the importance of using a dustbin. They have taught us on how to upcycle waste through their awareness and training programs. Initially we didn’t understand the concept of using dustbins. It’s only after they intervened, did we understand this. They provided dustbins to schools and waste collection bags to household. We sincerely appreciate and thank the team for this initiative that they started. We wish them the very best and we hope they reach their objective and goals.”

“[Waste Warriors] has changed the look of the village by organizing many cleanliness campaigns in our village. Waste Warriors has been spreading awareness of proper waste management and disposal by reaching out to schools and homes in Sunderkhal. I am sincerely happy to see the organization doing such good ground work.”

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The major challenges faced by the team during our operations last year have been:

1. Establishing SWM systems in Dotiyal, a village where Waste Warriors never had a footprint and where the local community is unaware of our work was the biggest challenge we came across at the start of this financial year.

2. Lack of interest in local authorities and concerned government departments to address the growing waste crisis around the Corbett Landscape

3. Lack of awareness and understanding among community members, tourists, hotels, tour operators to participate in a proper system of SWM, for their own well-being.

4. Unwillingness of skilled manpower to work in such wild and rural locations making it difficult to complete all targets on time.

5. Absence of an Assistant Project Manager and an Awareness Manager for the entire second-half of this financial year.

6. Growing waste piles along the eastern boundary due to increased religious tourism and lack of proper waste disposal facilities.

7. Rain-fed streams and agricultural aqua-canals flowing downhill disperse large quantities of plastic waste into the surrounding forests and farmlands adding to the waste dumps in member villages.

8. Monkeys create additional problems by tearing up and dispersing the dry waste collected in a bag as residents refuse to keep the bags safely indoors, due to the stigma attached to “waste”.

9. By the end of the financial year, our operations took a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While most of the targeted activities have already been completed, door-to-door waste collection and awareness raising activities had to be halted because of the lockdown.

10. Several earmarked purchases couldn’t be made because of the lockdown as well. These expenses to-be-made are listed in the next page.

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Challenges Identified

Litter pile found dumped in a pit right after conducting a community cleanup.

Our team going to Jamaria Primary School for Children's day program.

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Fund Utilisation

S.No. Budget heads and name of item which need to PurchaseAmount as per the budget (in Rs.) Procurement Status

1Bags for households for collecting waste (two per year) for 703 members in 9 villages

37,350 Order placed and 50% amount is paid.

2 Bags for waste collection for SHG members (10 per worker) 7,500Purchase on progress.

3 Bags - (Recyclables & Non-Recyclables for clean up) 4,800Purchase not initiated

4 Food waste drum 2,940 Purchase not initiated

5 Weighing Scale 2,500 Purchase not initiated

6 Uniform (kurta & salwar) for SHG members 8,200Purchase not initiated

7Awareness material for each village member (Calendar, cloth bag, poster, etc)

70,300Cloth bags are Purchased and rest of items on progress

8 Fixed Assets: Furniture & Fixture Metal shelf rack 7,000Purchase not initiated

9 Motorbike 30,000 Purchase on progress

10Educational Training Resources (dustbin stickers, awareness stickers, pamphlets, standee etc)

14,582 Purchase on progress

TOTAL 1,85,172

Budgeted Amount

(Rs.)

Expenses (Rs.) Funds Utilised

(Rs.)

Funds Unutilised

(Rs.)

Percent of Funds

UtilisedQuarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4

36,49,751 2,38,285 6,51,974 7,02,827 9,26,711 25,19,798 11,29,953 69.04 %

Earmarked Purchases Yet To Be Made

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New Developments

Dotiyal, a village situated far away from urban areas, never had a waste management system. The team had to work hard to convince the villagers to have a proper waste management system implemented. This was achieved through rigorous awareness-raising sessions and regular community interactions.

Additionally, 2 women formed the Dotiyal Self-help Group (DSHG), and have actively been doing door-to-door waste collection.

Solid Waste Management at Dotiyal

We met the SDM of Sult block in Almora district to discuss the need to implement a waste processing plant in the region. The establishment of such a facility is still in discussion.

We discussed that a Block committee will be formed to oversee the processing plant and Waste Warriors will be a part of this committee. The funds for land and machinery will be raised by co-funding with government and Waste Warriors.

A cleanup drive in Sanker with support from government and the community was also considered.

Meeting with SDM Sult

To help with the disposal of waste, we approached Ramnagar Nagar Palika to acquire permission to use their landfill. A proposal on awareness raising in Ramnagar was also shared.

Also, to help raise awareness and to add perspective on the issues with waste, an awareness raising session was conducted with the Nagar Palika staff on December 24th.

Working with Ramnagar Nagar Palika

24th Dec 2019: Adult awareness program with Administrative & Field Staff of Nagar Palika in

Ramnagar Town.

3rd Dec 2019: Meeting with SDM Sult.

Door to door waste collection by Dotiyal SHG members - Jan 2020

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Since 2017 Waste Warriors Corbett has successfully been adding achievements to their roster. Last financial year, we convinced 60% of community members in 6 villages to contribute a monthly user fee for regular door-to-door waste collection. However, 3 remaining project villages have been reluctant in accepting our waste management approach.

The entire field work of waste collection and its processes like data entry, transportation, sorting, storage, processing and disposal is currently managed by lady members of a local self-help group, who have been trained, mentored and are currently monitored by a small team at Waste Warriors Corbett.

In the upcoming year, the Waste Warriors team will continue to:

1. Convince non-paying members from all the 6 villages. Continue to empower local authorities and community members including the Block Officers, Gram Pradhans, Forest Department officials, SHGs, room owners, vehicle owners, etc. by making the community responsible for the entire work of waste collection and its processes. This in turn will help the community members earn a livelihood. This also ensures the area is kept clean and free of waste-related diseases. A win-win solution, for all!

2. Setup SWM systems with regular door-to-door waste collection in Aamdanda, Jameria, & Chukam.

3. Create and publish over 5 publications and learning materials (English & Hindi) to share with stakeholders & beneficiaries. We will also publish the materials on our website and other digital media platforms to help spread mass awareness on replicable solid waste management models.

4. Research to create an opportunity to work with the local authorities so that various government schemes can be utilised to support the rural SWM systems.

5. Collaborate with government bodies at an increased capacity regarding awareness raising on SWM and implementation of such systems in the Corbett landscape.

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Our Way Forward6th Uttarakhand Spring Bird Festival at Chunakhan with Ramnagar Forest department - Feb 2020

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Waste Warriors gratefully thank ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, for supporting us in our efforts to create sustainable Solid Waste Management systems around the Corbett Landscape.

With your help, we are constantly progressing, to show our beneficiaries and stakeholders that it is possible to bring about systematic and behavioral changes in individuals, families, communities, and private and public institutions.

As a result of your support, our team has now added 750+ members of aware and responsible citizens, including from households, shops and schools, in 9 different villages across the Corbett landscape. Of this, over 60% are also members who contribute user-fees, segregate their waste and help to keep the environment of Corbett Tiger Reserve clean.

We hope to continue our mission to raise awareness on the harms of waste pollution and the importance of waste management, behavioural change, municipal systems engagement, and community empowerment. We will continue to ensure that as many households and businesses as possible understand their responsibilities towards their waste and will segregate, compost, and encourage their families and neighbors to do the same.

We thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of the community around Corbett Tiger Reserve and for supporting our vision of a cleaner India.

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Thank You to IFIG!

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The current Waste Warriors Corbett team, at the project office.

1. Tiwari, P. and Joshi, B., 1997. Wildlife In The Himalayan Foothills. New Delhi: Indus Pub. Co., p.309.

2. Bhatt, S., 2020. Addressing ‘Overtourism’ In The Corbett Landscape. [online] Heinrich Böll Stiftung India, p.11. https://in.boell.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2019/07/addressing_overtourism_in_the_corbett_landscape.pdf

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References

List of Abbreviations

NGO : Non-Governmental OrganisationUN : United NationsSDG : Sustainable Development GoalSWM : Solid Waste ManagementWWC : Waste Warriors CorbettSHG : Self-help GroupWASH: Water, Sanitation and HygieneIFIG : ICICI Foundation for Inclusive GrowthSDM : Sub-district Magistrate

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Forest Department, Education Department, Police Department, Tourism Department, Gram Panchayat, District Magistrates, Development Officers, Departments of various government schemes (MGNREGA, SWAJAL, etc.), Pollution Control Board, Nagar Palika, Public Welfare Department, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Hotels, Tour operators, Jeep / Taxi / Guide Association, Shops, Kabadiwalla, Village authorities and various ministers.

Our Stakeholders

corbett@wastewarriors.org

@wastewarriorscorbett

www.wastewarriors.org

+91 7830722999

Office Address:

Waste Warriors Corbett

Bhakrakot, P.O. Mohan,

Ramnagar, Dist. Almora

Uttarakhand, 244715

Waste Warriors is registered under the Indian Societies Act 1860 - 243/2012-2013Registered Address: 24 Pritam Road, Dalanwala, Dehradun, 248001