ARUNACHAL PRADESH : The promise of a clean India has resonated even in the remote and mountainous Arunachal Pradesh. The community at Sangti village in West Kameng district has worked so conscientiously that not only has the village turned tourist-friendly, but the villagers are also earning from recycling garbage. Sangti makes a tidy case for how NGO-community interactions could lead to sustainable development.
Scripting this success story, however, was not easy. It took months for the Northeast Waste Collective, the Guwahati-based NGO, to try and gain the trust of the locals in the picturesque village.
Ittisha Sarah, director of the Northeast Waste Collective, recalls that it all started in 2018 when the NGO took a group of students from Assam on an exposure trip to Sangti and developed a bond with the community.
In 2020, the villagers reached out to the NGO, expressing their desire to organize a festival in Sangti to promote tourism. However, the environmental conservation organisation was hesitant about a commercial festival due to concerns of the impact of improper waste management on the area.
“When the whole community agreed to solve the problem, we started working together to create a community-led waste management system. The festival, of course, happened eventually in collaboration with the community, showcasing their efforts,” Sarah shares.
An eight-member committee was formed, comprising four men and four women, tasked with collecting trash from households. A regional sheep breeding farm was also involved, providing vehicles to transport the collected waste.
“Villagers would either burn their trash or throw it into the river. Today, each household segregates its dry and wet waste. The waste is then taken to a material recovery facility (MRF) by committee members. If the sheep farm cannot provide vehicles, committee members’ volunteer their own,” Sarah explains.
Waste segregation occurs at households, home stays, shops, and the monastery. Once at the MRF, 100 women, members of self-help groups (SHGs), further segregate the waste into different categories. The recyclables are sold to a scrap dealer in Dirang, located 10 km away. Though the proceeds are not substantial, they benefit the SHG members.
The NGO plans to purchase a baling machine to increase the amount of trash transported to Assam, which has a better market for scrap.
The NGO has maintained continuous engagement with the community, utilizing tourism as a motivational tool. Villagers were shown documentaries depicting environmental degradation, emphasizing that if they do not care for their environment, nobody else will.
“There was a time when the village had no trash problems, everything was organic. Then, the introduction of packaging, single-use, and plastics brought the garbage issue. Sangti now offers everything one would find in a town. Additionally, tourism is booming, with many visitors coming to watch the migratory bird black-necked crane,” Sarah said.
Recognising that culture brings people together, the NGO sought to integrate the local Monpa tribe’s culture into the waste management system. The Monpas, who have four sacred days a month following the Tibetan lunar calendar, designated the 8th of every month as “social service day” and the 15th and 30th as “waste segregation day.” Participation is mandatory, with penalties for non-compliance.
Arunachal’s tourism department awarded Sangti village a certificate of appreciation last year, acknowledging its significant contribution to sustainable and responsible tourism.
West Kameng district magistrate Akriti Sagar says waste management in urban areas, especially tourism hotbeds, is a major challenge which can only be tackled with cooperation from all sections of the society and by creating awareness among stakeholders.
“With this project in Sangti, the Northeast Waste Collective, in collaboration with the district administration, has made the SHGs their messenger for spreading the message of swachhchta. We aim to replicate this model throughout our district with the help of civil society and empower our SHG didis to achieve Swachh Bharat Mission of our honourable Prime Minister and promote clean tourism which is the mission of the honourable Chief Minister of Arunachal,” Sagar says.