Thriving at Work

Working with Paryavaran Mitra (PM) this summer was a valuable learning experience. This entry will describe what I learnt and the type of work that I am attracted to. 

Leadership and Mentorship

I worked directly with Ashish Agrawal, who is the founder and director of PM. As a social entrepreneur who has previously worked for the World Bank, the opportunity to work closely with someone of this calibre was incredibly valuable. Imagine how different the learning experience would be shadowing Steve Jobs rather than interning at Apple. Having a strong mentor that can guide me through my early career I feel will exponentially increase my learning progression.

Responsibility, Ownership and Delivery
I was given real responsibility and ownership with my tasks. Organising social enterprise workshops at business schools meant liaising with professors, coordinating the resources I needed and managing my time. Knowing that I successfully led the whole process was very satisfying.

To write the case study I had to put in an initial framework and develop it as I learned more. I had to be proactive in gathering information and speaking to the relevant people. Doing this in an environment like India meant I had to be resourceful and persistent. At each step, I was challenged to develop my thinking and ability to incorporate new information into the case study. By the end of this journey, I should have a published case study available for global business schools to use. This level of ownership and resulting output motivates me to work. 

Intensity of Operations While Working Towards the Big Picture
PM operates at a fast pace. Dealing with a broken down vehicle, trying to organise alternative options, liaising with the external partner about this issue, getting updates from the PM centres and constantly getting calls about other opportunities is a standard morning at PM. I personally enjoyed this fast-paced intense nature of work as it meant I was constantly on the go and engaging my brain, while knowing there was a bigger goal we were working towards. I learned that I do like the flexibility, freedom and dynamic nature of this type of work, even if it means I worked longer hours and over the weekends. 

Working with a Diverse, Multidisciplinary and Motivated Team
On any given day or assignment, I would interact with leaders at PM, the Rag-pickers, the centre coordinators, international volunteers, business leaders and business school professors. Interacting with a wide variety of people helped me become more aware of my interpersonal skills. I also realised I enjoyed working with such a diverse and motivated team of people.

Micro to Macro: How Rag-Picking Improves India’s Economy

In India, a lack of waste management infrastructure, inadequate disposal and collection systems and poor education around waste management issues means that littered roads are a common sight. Littering that occurs at the micro level, has negative impacts for society as a whole at the macro level, which is a classic case of Tragedy of the Commons (click here for a further explanation). 2,500 tonnes of solid waste is generated per day in Ahmedabad¹. Since November 2014, Rag-pickers through PM have collected over 1 million kilograms of recyclable waste from the roadside. Women who rag-pick collect around 20kg of recyclable waste, 6 days a week, 52 weeks per year. They segregate the waste into different materials, then sell it on to a middleman to eventually be recycled. The women’s reason for rag-picking is to earn an income so they can provide for their family. 

But imagine if Ahmedabad’s 30,000 Rag-pickers² weren’t doing this nearly every day of the year. The result is that waste would be piling up on the streets, in fields and rivers, contaminating the environment. The residents of Ahmedabad would rather have clean streets over littered ones. They would rather not have to endure the smell or look at the eyesore of waste on the roads. 

More significantly though, the adverse health effects of unclean waste-ridden streets can lead to all the residents of Ahmedabad having a poorer quality of life. If people have poorer health, adults may not be able to work and children may miss days of school. At the minimum, people will be less productive. Consequently, this would harm Ahmedabad’s economy in the short and long term. Lower productivity and missed days at work results in lower output and hampered concentration and absence from school mean children today will be less skilled for the future.  

The underappreciated work that the Rag-pickers do is massively important for the positive wellbeing of the residents of Ahmedabad. Rag-picking is a nationwide occupation, so the impact that an informal job like rag-picking has for India’s economy must be vast. At the micro level, uneducated women earn a living through rag-picking. At the macro level, the service that these Rag-pickers provide by cleaning India’s streets has a huge multiplier effect for India’s economy.  

References:

1.       http://cpcb.nic.in/trend-of-solid-waste-generation-in-46-cities/

2.       PM serve around 50 women at one centre. There are 20 centres in one slum alone, catering to nearly 1,200 Rag-pickers. PM estimate there are around 600 centres across Ahmedabad, therefore around 30,000 Rag-pickers serve Ahmedabad alone.

‘As long as I have my health…’: Development vs Poverty vs Income

‘What is development?’ is a question that I have asked myself after having worked with Paryavaran Mitra (PM). My perception of the role of charities and social enterprises who serve those living in poverty, is to facilitate their transition out of poverty so that they can enjoy a higher standard of living, specifically by raising their income. But after spending time with PM, I saw that other sources of value in addition to income, are also highly important for a more holistic improvement on people’s lives. 

By being an honest actor in the market, PM have increased the monetary returns to rag-picking. However, this can only go so far. The market does not suitably reward rag-picking and as such the women who do this job do not earn a sufficient income to break themselves or their family out of poverty. 

PM provide the women with other non-monetary services. PM operate health camps for the women, where they not only learn more about health related issues but also gain treatment and/or medicines if needed. PM treat the women with love and respect and also facilitate leisure activities for them. Every Saturday the women come together, play games, sing, exercise and importantly have the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings with the group. This builds strong intra and inter community bonding and this tighter community spirit among the women increases their knowledge and power, which can help resolve other issues too. 

Improvements in physical and mental wellbeing, mean the women will enjoy a higher standard of living, without raising their income sufficiently to get them out of poverty. These contributions to their standards of living add huge value to improve the women’s quality of life, but do not have a monetary value. The women who work with PM still live in the slums and so the perception is that they are still poor, but if they are mentally, physically and socially satisfied, are they?