From Waste to Wealth: Baeru's Women-Led Revolution for Sustainable Coastal Communities

Udupi (Karnataka) [India], August 26: The rising plastic pollution poses serious threats to marine life and coastal communities. The current waste dumping system has wide-ranging consequences, impacting human health, the environment, and the socioeconomic well-being of around 4.7 million people in Karnataka's Coastal communities. However, a comprehensive and gender-sensitive response to climate change is notably absent. Driven by a strong belief in empowering women in coastal communities and safeguarding their environment, Divya Hedge established Baeru in 2021. Through a data-driven and technology-led process, it empowers women to transform waste into wealth, making it an economically beneficial endeavor.

Headquartered in Udupi, Karnataka, Baeru is a women-led waste management organization that aims to bridge the gap between the severity of the climate crisis and the disposal practices of local coastal communities. The company provides complete waste management services guided by the principles of the circular economy, transforming managed waste into valuable resources at the source. This approach involves a process where waste materials are collected, sorted based on reusability, cleaned, dried, and upcycled into functional products. Baeru’s mission is to achieve climate and gender justice by leveraging design, technology, language, and regional context through a two-pronged approach of climate education and empowering rural women economically.

In just 1.5 years of initiating waste management activities along the coastal regions of Karnataka, Baeru’s community waste management program has successfully engaged vulnerable communities, including many living below the poverty line. On a systemic level, it has also established partnerships with 25 local government bodies in the coastal region over the past year. Moreover, the organization collected and prevented more than 5,000 tons of plastics from reaching the ocean, recovered 500 tons of waste from the ocean, trained over 3,500 women in waste management practices, and conducted 75 climate action workshops in schools.

Last year, Baeru signed the UN Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles during a special UN Ocean Conference event in Portugal. In addition to its accomplishments, Baeru was honored with the 'Best Women-led Initiative' award at the City Champions Summit, hosted by Josh Talks and supported by the Omidyar Network India.

In future, Baeru aims to collaborate with additional local government bodies in Coastal Karnataka to encourage women's participation in the waste-to-wealth initiative. In the next 12 months, Baeru is determined to make a significant impact on ocean pollution by diverting 500,000 kilograms of ocean-bound plastics to create a cleaner, more sustainable future for Coastal Karnataka.