In this new section, Manage South Asia picks notable efforts by PMI South Asia chapters in driving youth and social impact (YSI) initiatives. In this edition, we applaud the YSI activities of the PMI Pune-Deccan India Chapter. Centered around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), YSI aims to equip youth with life skills and help them become changemakers in society.

Project Name: Green Village, Tekawadi, Pune

Tekawadi is a village in the Pune district of Maharashtra.

Project Objective: To work toward a number of UNSDGs with a focus on the environment, sustainability, poverty elimination, and women empowerment.

Key Achievements:

The first phase of the project, which took four months, involved planting 4,000 local species of trees that have medicinal properties. After three years, the yield from these trees can be used to make herbal/ayurvedic medicines.

The challenge was to ensure that these trees survive. Therefore, diligent risk assessment was carried out to protect the saplings from cattle, wildfires, insects, and diseases. It was quite a task to shield the trees from villagers who cut them for firewood.

In the second phase, the project focused on biological waste, especially from cattle. Biogas units were provided to 31 families who own cattle. With biogas, the families have reduced their firewood consumption. This initiative was completed in four months.

In the last phase, the project aimed to provide clean drinking water to the community, two units of water filters with reverse osmosis. It took three months to complete. The project addressed a number of UNSDGs.

At the Steering Wheel:

Vidya Chavan, PMI Pune-Deccan Chapter volunteer; Sachin Chougule, deputy manager, Forvia; Ajit Walunj, volunteer from Rotary Club; and Vitthal Shinde, sarpanch (village head), Tekawadi