I was born in a Zero waste village in north India. We used to grow food, spices etc in the fields by organic farming. For cooking we used earthen structures called 'chulha' and wood, utensils were made of clay or cast iron. We had cows and buffaloes in our homes, from which milk, curd, cheese and butter were made. We had cotton in our fields, from which our quilts were made, and the cotton was spun into cotton threads to make quilt covers, shawls and wraps. There were wooden cots for sleeping, woven with jute strings, which too was made by hand. Old clothes were used to make mattresses. We used ''Neem tree'' branches for brushing our teeth. Fuller’s earth was used for bathing, and Shikakai powder was used instead of shampoo. Fresh food was prepared in every house twice a day, even when it was surplus it was given to stray dogs and cats, in our village there was no special packaged food for animals. Every house had an Organic waste recycling system. Our tea was made from herbs found in the forest. Sugar was made from sugarcane. The spices were all homemade, vegetables were grown in fields and kitchen gardens and people shared them among themselves.
In marriages or functions, everyone used to eat food in plates and bowls made of tree leaves. The houses were made of clay bricks with a roof of bamboo, tree branches along with a special grass, which was warm in winter and cold in summer. At that time, we did not have a refrigerator. There were wells for drinking water, and there were big earthen vessels to store water. The collected rain water was used for the animals to drink. There was no machine to wash the clothes, everyone used to wash them by hand. For washing clothes there were big pieces of handmade soap, and after washing the clothes, they were left to dry in the sun. We always used stitched bags of cloth for school. We used to use a wooden plank mostly for writing, washing the ink with water and repainting it with a special clay to make it ready to use for writing again. All the toys were made by hand.
Even today, wherever I go, my culture goes with me, that's why I am very sensitive about the environment, and I try to use at least wasteful and environment friendly stuff. That's the reason for doing recycling workshops with children, even at school we are also organising several recycling Art workshops. The Aim of these art workshops is to encourage children both in their creativity and their awareness of waste recycling. They can look at waste paper in a new light, and think about how we can give items a second life. Involving children with recycling from an early age helps them to be responsible, tidy and learn about the environmental issues that we all face. They might look at 'rubbish' as something that can be beautiful, and this is economical too - no expensive art materials required.
