Remember this post? Ok, now read on!

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I didn’t know that my head would be spinning with excitement on what was supposed to be a quiet weekend. In fact, I was feeling a bad cold was coming along, and all I wanted was to settle into my bed with some hot soup, when I got a call from Tashi ji. What transpired next left me speechless and reeling with joy in a way that I can barely express, but here goes a try.

From a chance encounter to an enthusiastic meeting

In April 2023, we went to Yuksom (Sikkim) to do the Dzongri Trek. After finishing the fantastic trek and back to base at Yuksom, we were going to return back the next day. Early next morning, we just happened to bump into Mr. Tsetan Tashi Bhutia who shared his love for birds. Moreover, we found out that he was running a Resource Recovery Center (RRC) for handling solid waste management at Yuksom. Now I had to know more!

Seeing my excitement on waste management (yes!!), he showed us around the RRC and consented to being recorded while I took down notes of his work. I expressed my interest to share about his work on my blog EARTHLY NOTES. We both connected on the fact that we were discussing one of the most unappreciated and thankless jobs of the world. Despite the lack of financial and human resource support, Tashi had accomplished a great deal of success in the RRC as a result of his pure passion and hard work. I felt his story should be known beyond Yuksom.

How one thing led to another: The good butterfly effect!

On 16 April 2023, I posted my article on his work on Earthly Notes. The article gave an overview of how the RRC functioned and the challenges it faced. Do read it 🙂 Tashi forwarded the link to his seniors who then submitted a short report based on that to the Govt. of Sikkim, who in turn sent it to the Central Government. Within 2 days, the blog run by Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) of Swachh Bharat Mission featured Tashi’s work. And within the end of that month, RRC Yuksom got featured in the report “Voices from the States” (p.81) published by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and UNICEF; and then in the May Issue of Swachhata Samachar (p.4) published by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. In the months leading up to August, his work kept garnering more attention and well-deserved praise.

Fast track to August: A call can make your day

Cutting back to the present, I barely had any clue of what had transpired until the call from Tashi. Excitedly, he said, “So much has happened and all thanks to your article Adithi!” Then he narrated what had unfolded since the publication of the articles.

• Thanks to the attention it received from all these articles and reports, the government soon recognized the needs of the Yuksom RRC and sanctioned funds to purchase machinery and equipment for solid waste management in July.
• The Chief Minister of Sikkim came to Yuksom RRC on 18 August 2023 and inaugurated the new machines and work space!!!! (Photos can be viewed here)
• The two local waste management workers who used to be supported by Tashi himself, now have their salaries coming from the Government!
• Yuksom is being nominated as a model village under the Zero Waste Village for Sikkim and India to show the way for other villages in the country.
• Tashi received the best employee under the Rural Development Department of Govt. Of Sikkim.
• Tashi was felicitated on 15th August for the same!
• Tashi is now the brand ambassador for Zero Waste Promotion to all parts of Sikkim! In the next few months, he will be travelling to several parts of Sikkim and share his successful project ideas.

Wishing Tashi ji’s vision a grand success

I had to pinch myself to believe all this was happening. In fact, we were not even aware that so much had happened in Yuksom since April! Could a simple little article from Earthly Notes set the ball rolling for such a chain of events? I personally cannot come to terms with that. All I can say is that: Mr. Tsetan Tashi Bhutia deserves every bit of recognition and appreciation for the hard work he has put in at Yuksom RRC for the last few years. I hope his trailblazing efforts inspires many more people to engage with waste management issues in their communities. Yes, it is easy to feel flooded with cynicism in the face of colossal crises unfolding every day in our world, but that makes it all the more important to continue working at the grassroots and create these ripples of change.

Life-changing revolutions are often catalysed through the smallest of sustained efforts. If Earthly Notes has played even a minuscule part in this, then we are truly humbled and honoured.

(Thank you Deborah and Ashwin, for helping me articulate this piece)

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