We have also established the Zero Waste Centre(2003), a centre for Resource Use education at Kovalam, and we are in the process of enhancing the capabilities of the people associated with it in terms of community development and enterprise development needs. The focus of the community and enterprise development is to have a healthy and sustainable lives and livelihoods.  Employment Generation is one of the most important elements of the Zero Waste Programme and in Kovalam, we have already been successful in creating about 100 jobs, from producing materials that are environmentally suitable and also organic farming practices as an alternative to the chemical farming.  The Zero Waste Centre is also working with the local panchayaths (local self governments) to strengthen the local governance systems and enhance participation.

At present the Zero Waste Centre has

Þ      A Community Capacity Building programme (CCBP) which is partly supported by the Kerala Tourism Department and aims at taking the Zero Waste and Sustainable Livelihoods concept to the local community in Kovalam(since 2003)

Þ      A Resource Use, Education and Training Programme which is imparting training to local youth and women on sustainable livelihood options like coconut shell utility materials, paper, cloth, waste cloths and other locally available, environmentally suitable materials based family enterprises(since 2003)

Þ      An Enterprise Development Support Programme which has as its intentions enterprise building training for the small enterprises, business development for the Centre and a campaign support for promoting these materials into the larger public as well as institutions. One of the EDSP persons is supported with a fellowship from Greenpeace India. We aim to support the programme by inviting investments and the business will have to repay the investment with a nominal interest (since 2004).

Þ      A Children for a Toxic Free World programme for the children of the locality and schools surrounding Kovalam.(since 2003)

Þ      An Organic Farming Programme for farmers, especially small, marginal and landless.(since 2002)

Þ      A Kovalam Clean up campaign (since 2003), where a periodical cleanup of Kovalam is done to showcase the waste that is being dumped there and also to make Kovalam cleaner.  This is done with local stake participation and each time the programme is done with different people.  We have carried this out in association with the Indian Coast Guards, the Kerala Hotels and Restaurants association, the Kerala Tourism Department, Greenpeace and the students of the IHMCT.

Þ      An Extended Producer Responsibility Campaign (since 2003) along with Greenpeace India where we sent back the waste-plastic-water bottles collected from the dumps back to Coke and Pepsi, demanding that they take responsibility of their waste and stop dumping it on the community.   Even though Pepsi responded with calling us back for a dialogue, they have not done much and we have to take this up more vehemently so that EPR becomes a norm.