Have you ever thought that plastic bags can be transformed into beautiful utility products like lampshades, shopping bags, and yoga mats? Today, at Baton Baton Mein, we are going to talk to one such enthusiast who not just gave her innovative touch to all the plastic waste but also provided livelihood to the rural populations. Please welcome Amita Deshpande – founder of reCharkha – The EcoSocial Tribe- a social enterprise resolving the issue of Waste Management and upcycling it into the beautiful handcrafted fabric using Indian traditional CHARKHA and HANDLOOM.
Listen to the interview:
About my guest – Amita Deshpande
Amita Deshpande has worked extensively in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in the past 14 years. An IT Engineer by education, she went on to do her Masters at Purdue University, USA with a focus on sustainability. She worked with CSR teams of multinational corporations, consultancies, non-profits, and community-based organizations in both the United States and India. She eventually founded Aarohana EcoSocial Developments with the rich experience she had gathered. After leading Aarohana for 7 years, she founded “reCharkha – The EcoSocial Tribe” to continue the same work of upcycling waste plastic.
How I came to know about her
Around 1 ½ years ago, I heard one of Amita Deshpande’s interviews and learned about her venture. I was very inspired by her journey. And when I started the interview series, she was on my guest list. It was nice of her to accept my invitation and to share her journey with my listeners and me. She is a very down to earth person with clarity in her thoughts. No wonder she is doing such an amazing work and connecting to people from the rural areas.
During our conversation…
I was curious to know the reason for picking plastic out of all the waste like disposables, bottles. During our conversation, Amita shared the reason behind it; she talked about how reCharkha EcoSocial Tribe was born and also the reason behind the name. She also shared her advice for aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Highlights of the interview with Amita Deshpande
- How she got inclined towards sustainability?
- After working in the IT field and doing Master’s in the USA, what made her pursue waste management as a career? Was the transition hard?
- Reason behind choosing “reCharkha” as the name for her enterprise.
- Reason behind choosing plastic (Plastic/polyethene bags, multilayered wrappers of Gifts, multilayered wrappers of biscuits, cookies, old audio and video cassette tapes, and a lot other household packaging material like cereal, flour and detergent packets) out of all the waste like disposable and bottles.
- How did she form her team at reCharkha?
- How did she convince and train the rural artisans?
- What is her source of inspiration or driving force behind moving forward on her journey?
- Her plans at reCharkha EcoSocial Tribe.
- Her advice for aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Watch Amita Deshpande in this video and get to know her work
You can follow Amita Deshpande
Website: reCharkha
Instagrma: @amita_ecosocial , recharkha_ecosocial
Twitter: @reCharkha_EcoSocial
Facebook: reCharkhaEcoSocial
To check out previous podcast episodes please check out Baton Baton Mein Podcast.
Previous interviews:
Shashank Udapurkar Part 1, Shashank Udapurkar part 2
I really loved Amita’s initiative. she is doing a fab job in serving community and protecting environment. hats off to you for bringing such amazing personalities each time with your podcast interview series. indeed, each one has their uniqueness and it is great to know more about them with your interviews.
Thanks Surbhi. Yes, she is doing an amazing work.
This is really interesting and inspiring at the same time. There is a lot of scope in upcycling and not as many initiatives as there could be. I hope the tribe grows! Thanks so much for bringing out her story!
I agree. Amita is doing an amazing job.
I had been following recharkha for a long, it’s so nice to hear so much about her work from your podcast Alpana. Being an #ecoblogger I had always supported upcycling and her initiative is commendable and so are her products.
#panchtatwagirl #praguntatwa
I am waiting for meet her in person.
Glad to know about such a talented personality through your post such people are real gems for the society
Absolutely
Thank you for introducing Amita and ReCharkha to us. While most of us are talking about changing the world and helping the environment, wonderful people like Amita are going ahead and doing it.
Absolutely.
Wow I’m in awe of Amita Deshpande. Thanks a lot Alpana. I want to know more about her now and also you gave me ideas about how to present an interviee effectively as always.
I am glad that you enjoyed the interview.
Amita Deshpande is a lady who is a role model.. Thank a lot for introducing her to us. Love for nature is the greatest act of humanity.
I agree.
Well writing article and very nice information post. I agreed that Amita FOUNDER of recharkha – The ecosocial tribe. I am glad you shared that. Thanks for sharing👍
Your welcome.
This is such a awesome conversation with Amita , love the way she has taken the initiative . I love the entire concept and would love to show my support
Yes Hema. She is very passionate.
I too read a couple of her interviews a few months back and have been fascinated with the brand as well as the thought process behind it. It is a pleasure to know her better through this interview 🙂
Her work is commendable.
Wow such an inspiring post . Glad to know about such a talented personality and way she is dedicated towards sustainability
True.
Good to knwo about Amita Deshpande and her journey towards saving the environment by her venture. Shall check the podcast to know her thoughts.
I hope you will like it.
Sustainable life and Sustainable business is crucial.I like Amita’s vision of taking on recycling plastic.Its a tough job I must say .Great interview
Yes, she is making all the efforts to make this planet free from plastic.