Adamya Chetana

Established in 1998, Adamya Chetna partnered with MDMS (Mid-Day Meal Scheme) in 2003 two Indian States, and serving over 2 lakh children from government and government-aided schools Area of Intervention With belief in the concept of “Green Kitchens,” the NGO is setting up kitchen to ensure zero garbage, no wastage of water, and green fuel for cooking large MDMS-meals Key Geography Karnataka and Rajasthan Need for the initiative

Problem Aadamya Chetna resolves to liberate the underprivileged children from the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy by serving them nutritious Mid-Day meals Situation Before One day MDM consumed 75 LPG cylinders or 400 litres of diesel/ 5,000 litres of water and produced 500 kg garbage on a daily basis

Intervention Overview

Introduction of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mantra to begin Green Initiatives at Midday meal kitchen

Steps • ZERO garbage kitchen through garbage bins removal, bio-waste composting - used as fuel, for briquettes, and paper waste used for artwork/ craft

Green/ Fossil Free Fuel Cooking using biofuel comprising of ready briquettes/ Pellet made of agricultural waste and locally available urban dry waste Water reuse and renewable energy

Resources • Kitchen waste and locally available biowaste as fuel • Solar power grid installed • Green practices, experts, and training from Chetna

Impact and Key Learning

Achieved so far • LPG/Diesel consumption reduced to ZERO and completely switched to biofuels and renewable energy • Zero garbage from 500 kg per day • Rice rinsed water being sent for watering the garden – 5,000 litres daily • Vitamin-rich starch generated while cooking rice being used in Sambar – 3,000 litres daily • Scrubber water used to filter carbon soot of steam boiler, being utilized for washing utensils - 10,000 litres daily • Daily feedback from the schools regarding quality, quantity and time of delivery is obtained • A mobile app has been developed and used to collect live feedback

Key Learning By adopting sustainable environmental practices, zero garbage and zero fossil fuel consumption can be achieved. The innovation has potential to reduce wastage of energy, water, and other resources hence it is scalable to other similar institutions.