Kerala's Haritha Karma Sena: Women empowerment through cleanliness mission

Thiruvananthapuram: Over 35,000 women with only basic education in Kerala are now earning an average monthly income of over Rs 10,000 along with keeping the state clean. Thanks to the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS), a 'green army' of women who have been playing a key role in Kerala attaining near 100 cent per waste free status.

From door to door collection of garbage to its proper segregation, the HKS generated a revenue of Rs 350 crore during the last fiscal through the proper treatment of over 61,500 tonnes of garbage collected from over 85 lakh households and institutions and its scientific disposal. It includes items like plastic, medicine strips, worn out footwear, broken glass and used clothes.

The HKS was initiated in 2017 by the Haritha Kerala Mission, which was a key initiative of the left front government that came to power in 2016. The key objectives were nature protection through cleanliness, attaining water security and enhancing greenery.

"Initially women were reluctant to join the HKS as it was generally considered as garbage collection from homes. Once they are convinced of the key role they will be playing in nature protection, women are actively taking part in the initiatives. There are women who earn up to Rs. 30,000 through various activities of the mission," said an HKM spokesperson.

Most members of the HKS are recruited from the volunteer groups of the Kudumbashree women empowerment programme of the state government.

The garbage collected from households and institutions are properly collected, segregated and treated through the 20,000 odd material collection and resource recovery facilities. The garbage is segregated into around 50 types and sold out through the Clean Kerala Company, which is another initiative of the government.

Over 1,000 local bodies and around 19,000 local body wards could achieve the zero-waste status through the initiatives. The waste management models of some panchayats had even received national attention. The model of Erattayar panchayat in Idukki district, which also involved production of bio-manure from garbage, was hailed as a successful waste management model in the last economic survey.

The HKS members are also involved in protection and rejuvenation of the water bodies and setting up of green spaces. Under the 'Pachathuruthu' (green space) programme of the HKM, a total of 3,648 green spaces with a total area of over 1150 acres were so far created. As part of protection of water bodies, over 90 percent rejuvenation work of 46,000 water bodies across the state were so far carried out.