Swechha - We for change

It is an endeavor to spread environmental consciousness amongst the tourists who visit Yamunotri and make the place ecologically vulnerable due to dumping of cheap quality raincoats. The project proposes renting of good quality raincoats for a nominal price instead of selling plastic raincoats that are neither durable nor environment friendly.

Context

The origin of the Yamuna at Yamunotri is an attractive tourist spot, which is visited by tourists and devotees between the months of April and October. On an average 5 lakh people visit this place every year owing to its natural beauty and its religious significance. The large numbers of tourists bring with them a lot of Non-Biodegradable Waste and strain the resources of the quaint hilly pilgrimage.

The bulk of the damage is essentially done by the cheap plastic that is used for one-time use Raincoats by pilgrims. The area falling between Jankichatti and Yamunotri gets rainfall almost every day in the Yatra months between April and September. Thus making Raincoats a must, but the cheap plastic of the coats can not be used beyond once. Pilgrims discard the coats along the hills, thus polluting the sacred river even at its origin.

Objectives

• Operation Raincoat seeks to clean the Yamunotri Valley, keeping it as sacred and pristine as it was meant to be.

• It will replace the existing poor quality Raincoats with durable ones, thus ensuring livelihood opportunities for the people who depend on the sale of Raincoats for their living.

• To combine environmental sustainability with livelihood for the natives.

• To pave the way for such initiative in other ecologically vulnerable places as well.

Activities

Stage1: Baseline Survey of the Area

This stage will include the trade mapping of the product, to understand the production, procurement, and the retail chain of these low quality plastic raincoats.

Stage2: Community Organization

Networking with the local community, involving existing or creating Self Help Groups for the project and explaining to them the rationale and objectives of 'Operation Raincoat'.

Stage3: Interlinking

Linking Operation Raincoat to Yamunotri's ecology, culture, religion and the society at large.

Stage 4: Implementation of 'Operation Raincoat'

Supervising the project with the help of our volunteers and the local community and camping at Yamunotri for 4 months for the entire duration of the project.

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Get Involved

PARTNER WITH OPERATION RAINCOAT If our initiative looks good to you, if you feel like you too would like to work towards restoring Yamunotri to its erstwhile pristine state, then you can join us. It could be your contacts with traders or shopkeepers in the hills, contacts amongst Raincoat makers or sellers, or any other assistance towards realization of our goals in Yamunotri. Contact us at weforyamuna@yahoo.com or at 91-11-26671758. DONATE-FUND OPERATION RAINCOAT You can also support us monetarily for the Operation. As you may have imagined, the costs and overheads to achieve such a change is gigantic. Swechha is putting a lot of its resources into this feat, and we would be obliged for any monetary assistance you can provide towards this goal.

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