Those of us who trek to the Himalayas or Sahyadris ever year know the importance of this annual ritual. We hear the call of the mountains and plan our treks every year. But do we know that we could be harming the ecological balance in the natural landscape?
Lakshmi Selvakumaran says that the basic motto at Green Trails initiative is to leave the mountains better than we found them. Green Trails is a part of the trekking organisation Indiahikes. And now Green Trails is able to collect 2000 kg of garbage per month, with the help of their team of interns and trekkers.
They have two aspects to collecting the waste on the mountains; on the trek and off the trek. Lakshmi says, “On the trek, we try to reduce our carbon footfrint. We do not leave any litter behind during the trek. We also try buying things in bulk, which reduces the creation of plastic waste. We equip each trekker with eco-bags in which they collect whatever waste they come across on the trek trail.”
Green Trails also divides the waste into organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste includes kitchen and human waste, which is composted. They deal with inorganic waste in different ways, like building bricks of bottles, eco-pillows, etc.
Their off-trek work involves working with the local communities. Lakshmi says, “We work with the village communities in the mountains. We not only create awareness, but also provide them with feasible solutions. We want to ensure that minimum waste goes to the landfill. We teach them to segregate waste at the source itself, and provide labels to help them with this.”
They also teach villagers about water harvesting techniques and using solar panels at camp sites. They also help other trekking organisations to deal with the collected waste. Their work has helped to create zero-waste communities in the mountains.
Regarding the recent crisis of water shortage in destinations like Shimla and Spiti, Lakshmi says, “It was not that the travellers were the only problem. These places are trying to adopt development even when they are not prepared for them. Their infrastructure development needs special planning.”
While the mountains give us immense joy, it is also important to maintain their pristine landscapes. And it is upto the trekkers and travellers to ensure that the mountains are able to maintain their raw natural beauty.
