KOCHI: The Kudumbashree Mission has been conducting a ‘Plastic free Campaign’ in connection with the Sabarimala pilgrimage for the past several years in which one major initiative was the distribution of cloth bags to cut plastic usage. This time though, it didn’t receive any state funding, but the members of the poverty eradication and women empowerment programme are bent on contributing to nature’s cause during the two-month long pilgrimage season.
The mission is now set to roll out ‘saree’ bags and distribute the same to shop owners and pilgrims, thanks to a unique ‘saree challenge’ to collect ‘raw-material’ for churning out eco-friendly cloth carry bags.
“Unlike the previous occasions, we got no government funding or sponsorships this time and hence we decided to make the cloth carry bags through the ‘saree challenge’ initiative. The members are visiting each and every house to collect sarees and shawls that are not being frequently used. Our stitching units then convert the same into carry bags. We intend to distribute the first set of the bags by November 20,” said Adhila S, Pathanamthitta district co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Mission.
The Kudumbashree women will collect plastic covers and bottles from pilgrims and give them cloth bags in return. They will collect the same with the help of forest guards at Laha, Kanamala forest check posts. The cloth bags will also be distributed to shop owners en route to the holy shrine.
“We aim to distribute 200 cloth bags to pilgrims daily. The first lot of 10,000 cloth carry bags will be churned out by this month end,” she added.
The ‘saree challenge’ was originally started during the Onam season as part of efforts to make Pathanamthitta a plastic-free district. However, the initiative failed to make serious headway then and the Kudumbashree couldn’t meet the deadline of September 5 to roll out the eco-friendly bags.
Meanwhile, the Kudumbashree is also holding talks with authorities to set up food courts at two places along the Pampa-Sannidhanam trekking path, for the first time. “Since the tendering process of shop outlets was over, we have initiated discussions with the forest department to allot space,” said Sreekanth A S, Kudumbashree Programme Officer.
The mission has also leased out an ‘Amenity centre’ of the District Tourism Promotion Council at Pandalam and launched a ‘Premium Cafe’. “Starting next week, only vegetarian food will be served in view of the pilgrimage season. There is sufficient parking space for pilgrims. Other organisations like ‘Milma’ too have opened outlets there,” the official added.