A relatively new concept in development and social entrepreneurship is “employership.” Rather than focusing on aid and innovation, entrepreneurs create enterprises that provide jobs to the poor. Many times, these are jobs that are especially suited to a certain population.
One of the most common examples of this is employing ragpickers, the ubiquitous poor who gather trash and exist on minimal profits from recycling, for municipal waste-handling jobs. Waste Ventures provides a waste management blueprint, investment capital, and technical and organizational expertise to organizations looking to employ ragpickers. Waste Ventures works with both non-profits looking to adopt a for-profit model as well as organizations looking to enter the space.
One of the company’s first projects is in Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand, in eastern India working with Nidan, an NGO working to create jobs for the poor. Nidan began employing ragpickers and entered into a municipal collection contract, but the organization had no way to create a waste processing plant big enough. Instead, they began dumping waste into an open dumpsite.
This is where Waste Ventures came in.
Waste Ventures designed a compost plant at the same site with Bokaro Steel City Municipality and Nidan. They are helping to build an initial compost plant that will manage 1 ton of organic waste per day and will work on improving the local recycling markets. The plant should be completed within the month.
The project currently employs 57 waste pickers, who are offered higher exchange rates for the pieces they collect and are guaranteed an income. On average, their daily wage increased from US$1.5 to US$7 a day. The waste pickers now wear uniforms and carry an ID, so they are no longer hassled by police. By providing and requiring the use of protective gear, the waste pickers are healthier and report less disease.
The undertaking will benefit the city as well. In the areas where Nidan collects, about 40% of the city, waste accumulation will be decreased by 80%; 50% of waste will be composted and 30% will be recycled. Greenhouse gases have will also be reduced by 70%. (These numbers represent the change that can happen if the project is allowed to The project has been so inspirational, that contractors in other cities have implemented the Waste Ventures blueprint.
The project is expected to break even within 6 months of operation. In the next few months, Waste Ventures hopes to expand the capacity of the compost plant to 5 tons per day.
Photo courtesy of Waste Ventures
