Rivers as Channels for Green and Social Entrepreneurship

The rivers of the Indian subcontinent have always been of great significance. However, lately it seems like people lose sight of how crucial it is to preserve these waterways. Today, urban rivers struggle to find a flow as they get loaded with sewage, solid waste matter and infrastructure encroachment.

"We are Rivers" – a short video, created by Educated Environments (EdEN) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, India Office, Water Environs, SAHEC highlights the need to protect water resources and features ecopreneurs from the country who are committed to preserving the health and cleanliness of our rivers. The work of organisations like Help us Green, NEDFi, and RiverRecycle, who are each responsible for cleaning the rivers in their unique ways, is what We are Rivers aims to capture. The consistent efforts of these ecopreneurs towards conservation of the rivers has given them a new lease of life.

Help us Green, an organisation that processes leftover flowers from temples into incense sticks to prevent their disposal in waterways, and NEDFi, a company that turns water hyacinths into environmentally friendly crafts, are two examples of initiatives that extract the economic value of waste and minimise its impact on the environment and water ecologies. Likewise, River Recycle, also discussed in the film, reuses, and recycles plastic from Mumbai's Mithi River. Initiatives like these not only help to contain the ill-effects of development practices but also provide meaningful and green livelihood for people from marginalised communities.

It is time, that such initiatives get scaled up and motivate common citizens to practice greater environmental awareness and return as much to the environment as taken from it. It is imperative to take action and manifest that the cry of the rivers have not gone unheard.

The video is part of the collaborative work called “Riverse”, led by EdEN and supported by FES, which aims to build broader stakeholder alliances for creating a change narrative for urban water management that is socially conscious, ecologically sustainable, and economically viable.

Watch the video here:We are Rivers

Related links: Renewing Forgotten Flows

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For more information about FES India's work and program please contact the India-based Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Office and follow the facebook page for regular updates.