Entrepreneurial actions for a sustainable future
Enactus Kirori Mal is a chapter of Enactus established in 2016 at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. It consists of a team of over 70 students who aim to uplift socio-economically marginalized communities by building sustainable business models. What distinguishes this organization from others is the zeal of young change makers to work not for themselves but the society as a whole. They currently have four running projects: Project Dor, Project JanBhoomi, Project Syahi, and Nirav.
Project Dor works with a community of migrant women from Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal to produce and sell handcrafted tie and dye products to revive this dying art form. These products are neo-ethnic and gender-neutral cotton and chanderi scarves, dupattas, and cushion covers. Dor is a zero-waste and sustainable fashion brand as all of its defective scarves are made into potlis and the product packaging is made using paper instead of plastic.
Dor has led to the emergence of a community of financially independent women, who are being trained in
business operations, from production to marketing and finances.
Project JanBhoomi aims to tackle the problems of land degradation and waste management. Its flower compost, made out of the flower waste discarded from temples, provides an innovative solution to the problem of flower disposal while benefiting the soil and reducing wastage at the same time. In order to promote an Organic lifestyle, Project JanBhoomi also sells a gardening toolkit that includes five high-quality gardening tools.
Project Syahi is a unique initiative that aims at tackling the problem of single-use plastic waste. Syahi creates pens made out of upcycled paper, which has a seed attached to its rear end. This means that after we finish using the pen, we can plant it in the soil to grow a sapling and enrich our garden. The skilled community of migrant women who handicraft the Syahi pens now have a stable source of income thus making them financially independent. The women are also being trained so that they can eventually run the project by themselves and become independent entrepreneurs.
"Healing takes time and asking for help is a courageous step" ~ Mariska Hargitay
With this in mind, Nirav is an initiative that provides pro bono mental health services to anyone seeking help in order to promote the cause of mental health and break the stigma surrounding mental illnesses. It strives to make therapy accessible to all sections of society.
Through these four projects, Enactus Kirori Mal College has replaced around 7800 plastic pens, prevented the
discharge of 200 million
microplastic fibres, saved 44,000 square inches of cloth, planted 5850 saplings and made mental health therapy services accessible to over 100 individuals.
The ultimate goal of all the projects at Enactus Kirori Mal is sustainable development as a path towards the future. All the projects align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and strive to create a better tomorrow through the power of entrepreneurial action. With a head for business and a heart for the world, the members at Enactus imbibe the values of integrity, passion, innovation, and collaboration.
