Deepa Gangwani

2010

Deepa Gangwani

Together as One (TaO): Ondru Sernthu

http://togetherasone.in

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

Bold Idea: Develop a waste reduction social enterprise that builds demand for segregated waste and generates income opportunities for marginalized communities in India.

In India, waste is dumped in open spaces, landfills and waterbodies causing large scale environmental pollution and health hazards. The waste collectors (mostly women) already living in dire indigence and neglect, get exposed to severe health hazards while conducting their vital role of scavenging.  Akin to other developing nations, safe and efficient disposal of waste and upliftment of workers, exceeds the capacity of governments.   

TaO seeks to capture the economic benefits of waste as a green resource by harnessing the value proposition of waste-to-energy.  Financial incentives are then directed back to create behavioral realignment of communities towards segregation and littering. Furthermore, they seek to establish an elevated social rank and a dignified way of life for the vulnerable waste workers through an organized platform for social and energy entrepreneurship. This tackles the root causes of social and economic inequity by transfiguring the waste workers into catalysts that convert waste, a now-established green resource, into productive applications.  

Biography:

Deepa Gangwani has an MBA and an MS from Stanford University and has spent the last six years working on sustainable development in India with a focus on health, energy and education.  Deepa has had prior experience in community-based initiatives towards waste reduction, having volunteered with a waste management NGO for several years.  She has worked with this underserved population and knows them to be hard-working with tremendous potential.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
During the tsunami of 2004, I worked to aid marginalized ultra-poor communities in India, many of whom were already waste workers or had turned to picking through waste due to their financial hardships.  I had left India at a young age to study and work overseas and now as I returned to my country, I just fell in love with these people who seemed to survive if only for their sheer audacity to persist.  I found this community to be enterprising, hardworking and tenacious in spirit although they struggled against seemingly insurmountable economic and social inequities.  I was determined to find a platform that offers opportunities for people like them to engage their strengths and to create greater economic and social equity for themselves.  In the past 6 years, I worked with many nonprofits to implement strategies that created incremental benefits but the problems remained unaddressed and my ardent desire to create an enterprise that addresses these issues systemically has finally culminated and crystallized.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
Women wasteworkers, that I meet everyday, pick through trash with their bare hands to support large families on less than a dollar a day, are exposed to severe health hazards and are victims of extreme social discrimination and seclusion. Their resilience, despite the injustices they face from the very communities they serve, is a tremendous source of inspiration for me.    My graduate education at Stanford University in science and business coupled with global work experiences ranging from Fortune 500s to startups and social enterprises has given me a solid foundation from which to ideate and implement the change I wish to create for these communities.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
Current organizations in waste management struggle to get people to segregate waste at source such that it can be converted to productive applications later.  Furthermore, those that serve wasteworker communities have created vocational training to transition them into other irregular sources of income, have offered education, protective gear and healthcare benefits, and have built shelters for them.  But despite the incremental quality of life improvements, wasteworkers are still yearning for dignity!  This innovation creates energy from waste and transforms wasteworkers into energy entrepreneurs that resell this “green” energy to the very communities they work within.  They are thus seen as providers of an essential service and they now receive not just higher earnings but also greater social equity.  Citizens that segregate waste can now access energy at a 20% savings over fossil fuels, thereby feeding virtuous cycles of good waste management practices.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Humility, persistence and empathy.  Living in the now and adapting to inevitable change.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
African Soul: Angelique Kidjo and Salif Keita  Indian and Western Classical, soft rock and some fusion mixed with trance.  Prem Joshua, Karsh Kale, Jai Uttal

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
Non Fiction:    The Human Cycle, Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self Determination – Sri Aurobindo  The Black Swan: The Impact of The Highly Improbable – Nassim Nicholas Taleb  The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems - Pablo Neruda    Fiction:    The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho  The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?
news.bbc.co.uk  wsj.com    socialedge.org  gocomics.com

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit. Mark Twain