Monthly Archives: October 2018

Blazing a trail for organic cotton farming

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Nature, World Opinion
Marci Zaroff, an American and founder-CEO of MetaWear.
Marci Zaroff, an American and founder-CEO of MetaWear.

An American decides to use blockchain technology to promote ‘ECOfashion’

Setting a trend, she has become an ambassador for eco-friendly textiles. Meet Marci Zaroff, who after completing her specialisation in business management from University of California, Berkeley, coined the term ‘ECOfashion’ by promoting various lifestyle brands.

The American, who is the founder-CEO of MetaWear, a leading sustainable fashion manufacturer, has now decided to use blockchain technology in Andhra Pradesh from sowing seeds to the final product to prove genuineness on organic cotton-growing. She also has plans to replicate it in China, Turkey, Pakistan and Africa in future through partner-NGOs. She is involved in promoting cultivation of organic cotton in various parts among marginalised sections mainly women and tribal people through Chetna, an NGO in Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Grameena Vikas Kendra in Andhra Pradesh.

During the past one and half decades, through Chetna, 2,500 tonnes of processed cotton was procured and supplied to 30 popular brands in the United States. The value of cotton was put at $5 million. The value of final product was in the range of $30 million to $40 million.

In Andhra Pradesh, she is supporting the launch of a pilot project involving 250 tribal farmers in Gummalakshmipuram in Vizianagaram district.

Expansion plan

Ms. Zaroff has plans to expand it to over 15,000 farmers in five years. During her recent visit, she told The Hindu that they wanted to sequestration of 80,000 to 160,000 tonne of carbon by 2022.

She said implementation of eco-friendly best practices would not only benefit the farmers in getting higher yield but also reduce cost of operation and ensure climate resilient cotton farming.

Ms. Zaroff said the total organic cotton produced in India was 59,470 tonne during 2016-17 growing season. India is on top in the world in organic cotton production followed by China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Tajikistan.

“We have been successfully selling T shirts, neckwear, legging, bedding, summer clothes and undergarments through various brands by associating at various stages of supply chain be it retailer, branding and stockists,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – October 23rd, 2018

He has sights trained on civil services

Amazing Feats, Education
Panyam Sai Vinayak using the tab gifted by his aunt after he secured top marks in the Intermediate examination. | Photo Credit: V RAJU.
Panyam Sai Vinayak using the tab gifted by his aunt after he secured top marks in the Intermediate examination. | Photo Credit: V RAJU.

Visual impairment no impediment to Vinayak in either education or recreational activities

Panyam Sai Vinayak can swiftly play his fingers on the keyboard of his laptop typing Telugu as well as play a musical keyboard producing nearly perfect tunes.

With total visual impairment since birth, Vinayak, 17, is pursuing under-graduation in English literature, politics and history in the Andhra Loyola College (ALC) and uses his voice-enabled laptop and tablet extensively for education, music and cricket, to sing songs and other activities for recreation.

Topper in Intermediate

His dedication to achieving big in life has always put him at the forefront in education. Vinayak scored 886 marks in Intermediate last year becoming the topper among the visually challenged students in AP. He was recently bestowed upon with the Prathiba Award by the Education Department for it and has become an inspiration for many students studying in ALC and other colleges.

“He can perform many tasks with ease and competes with other students in the college. Not just education but he does well in music too,” says P. Bhargav Ram, a proud father of Vinayak.

In SSC, he scored GPA 9.7, the highest in AP and Telangana that year among the visually challenged, Mr. Ram adds.

“I want to become a civil servant and it is the reason why I have selected the current degree course. After UG, I shall go to the JNU for MA where I can pursue politics while getting trained for civils,” Vinayak explains his career plan in a nutshell.

Against all odds

However, scoring top marks is no easy task for Vinayak. He had to face difficulties like not being able to find a proper scribe, unwanted subjects like mathematics, lack of material for the visually challenged and others.

“No school granted him admission when we moved from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. Finally, St. John’s School came forward. His greatest support is his maternal uncle K. Deepak and braille teacher Nirmala,” says Mr. Ram. Vinayak studies subjects through audio recordings of text book content by Mr. Deepak.

“AP has no institution that prints braille books. It would be a huge problem for students who cannot afford electronic devices for learning,” he says.

“Except the ALC, there is no institution that could provide the required support to persons with vision disability. The college provides scribes and also training in computer usage. The governments should make subjects like mathematics as optionals for the challenged or provide special teaching instead of forcing them to study and pass unwanted subjects,” Mr. Deepak says.

Vinayak, who regularly plays cricket with a special ball with his uncle Deepak, wants the AP government to set up a cricket training institute for them.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Tharun Boda / Vijayawada – October 22nd, 2018