It was Saturday and we were visiting an ailing friend inPonda. On our way, we stopped at the Loutolim market place to buy flowers. Thesmiling florist welcomed and handed over the flowers promptly but surprisinglyin a plain newspaper wrapping. We wanted to know why he is not using a decentplastic wrapper. Silently he pointed out at a poster hanging on his wall thatsaid - ‘We sell flowers without plastic wrappers.’ The florist replied, “InLoutolim, no florist would sell flowers in wrappers. Go to Big Foot if you wantto find out why.” This answer compelled us to find out about this tiny plasticfree zone called Loutolim, in a Goa that’s full of plastic.
At Big Foot, Maendra Alvares was too glad to describe thegarbage management steps taken under his leadership in his village. “Garbage downsizingin Loutolim is done in three significant ways “ by asking the people to reducethe use of plastic wherever possible, by garbage segregation and by organisingexhibitions and competitions on garbage awakening,” Maendra explained.
An on-going drive to educate the people is prevalent, toteach them to avoid the use of plastic wrapping for the flowers or gifts. Thisis not limited only to Loutolim. Letters and posters are sent to 190 Churchesand 135 Panchayats all over Goa.
The local churches carry the message around. Fr Bolmax inLoutolim church insists that plastic should be avoided at funerals, as thecemetery is littered with such wrappers when the flowers decay. Posters thatsay “ ‘carry your own bag’ are distributed in schools and shops and prominentlydisplayed. Stores avoid plastic and encourage carrying of cloth bags. The giftshops display posters “ ‘Wrap your gifts in paper or eco-friendly material’ andfollow the message practically.
“In Don Bosco Higher Secondary school, all the students weregiven cloth bags, asked to paint a message on them and gift them to theirparents. Saviour of the World High School is also provided with two bins, onefor paper and other for plastic so as to cultivate the habit of segregation inchildren early on. Educating the young minds would translate into bringingawareness in the parents,” Maendra shares.
“It is we who create the garbage, so it is our moral duty toclear it. If each one of us bears this in mind, tries to generate less garbageand finds out clever ways to dispose it, the whole problem is resolved,” feelsMaendra who began taking small steps towards awakening. Contributing his bit asa vigilant citizen in a sleepy village, Maendra offers a helping hand to combatthe grave issue that’s been haunting the state for over a decade now.
Maendra has come out with a brilliant idea to educate theyoung minds and drive them towards this common goal of making theirsurroundings cleaner and greener. “I have been successful in drawing the youngcrowd in the schools in our vicinity, to come together and make the areagarbage free,” he says. This is done in two ways “ by generating less waste andcleverly disposing off the garbage that cannot be avoided.
The local school managements and the villagers in Lotoulimseem too enthusiastic to taste the fruits of this green effort. “It’s a two wayprocess. One has to demonstrate how less waste could be created and thendemonstrate how the existing waste could be cleverly disposed in a manner thatis again, harmonious with nature,” says Maendra.
