Greetings!
At the heart of the Indian Himalayas, where rivers are born and snow leopards still wander, Waste Warriors continues its quiet fight against one of the most pressing challenges of our time — waste creeping into even the remotest valleys.
This year, our focus was simple: strengthen the basics and deepen local leadership. From Uttarkashi to Dharamshala, over 200 Warriors worked hand in hand with communities to collect and process 1,200 metric tonnes of waste, engage more than 1.8 lakh people, and create 26,000 livelihood days for waste workers and women leading local waste systems.
Across the mountains, change took many forms — Paryavaran Sakhis in Corbett and Sahastradhara are more confident in running their own waste operations; Local Entrepreneurs like Rajkumar in Dharamshala and Ritesh in Kempty manage municipal systems with pride and ownership; and villagers in Gaichwan banned single-use plastics at their own fair. Each story is a reminder that real transformation starts when people take charge of their own environment.
We also took small but steady steps in new directions — piloting composting technologies, turning public art and mountain roads into messages for mindful tourism, and building a growing movement of young changemakers through YUWA and Ecolympics.
This year wasn’t about scaling fast, but building deep roots — systems and relationships that will last. Because every clean trail, every empowered worker, and every child who chooses to care brings us closer to a future where the Himalaya can be how they are supposed to be - free from waste!
Happy to share what we did for 365 days in 2024-25, in ~60 pages. Hope you all give it a read!
Link: Lasting Change
Best,
Waste Warriors Society