Nalini Shekar (born 1964) is an Indian

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

who co-founded Hasiru Dala (Green Force), a non-profit helping marginalised waste pickers in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India, become recognised for their work and developing a more sustainable waste management system in the city.

Education and early years

Shekar was born and brought up in Bengaluru. She spent 23 years of her life in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. She worked extensively on the issue of violence against women and children in the United States. She supported the facilitation passage of legislation to support victims of human trafficking in California. For immigrant women affected by domestic violence, Nalini ran a shelter in the past. She also co-founded Kagad, Kach Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), union of waste pickers in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in 1997.

Hasiru Dala

Nalini returned to Bengaluru in 2010, intending to retire. But a growing waste issue, and the plight of the waste pickers of the city, led her and a group of activists to form Hasiru Dala. Hasiru Dala since its formation, has generated more than 540 new jobs and has helped organise 9,500 waste pickers to work in 175 residential societies and office buildings. The NGO has successfully managed to get these marginalised waste pickers government recognised occupational identity cards and other loan and health facilities, giving them legitimacy. In 2015, the NGO also splintered into Hasiru Dala Innovations which has helped in creating new and long lasting livelihood options for the waste pickers. Today, Hasiru Dala has waste-pickers representing the larger goal in workshops abroad. One of the waste pickers from Bangalore represented the organisation in UN conference in Paris. Hasiru Dala is a pioneer in integrating waste workers and

waste management in India Waste management in India falls under the purview of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). In 2016, this ministry released the Solid Wastage Management (SWM) Rules, which replaced by the Municipal Solid Waste (M ...

Nalini says that she imagines a future where waste pickers become experienced entrepreneurs, dry waste collectors and managing Bio-gas generators, in every corner of Bengaluru. Hasiru Dala currently operates in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, Managlore,

Tumkur Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

, Rajamudry, Chikkabllapura, Chamrajnagar, Davangere,

Hubli Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad distr ...

, Dharvad, Nanjungud, Sira,

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

, besides Bangalore. The organisation has been successful in establishing an inclusive model of waste management in Bangalore which tenders to the needs of residents and ensures that waste does not end up in the landfills

Career highlights

* Received Bangalore city's Kempe Gowda award in 2014 * Was awarded prestigious Namma Bengalure Award in 2020 * Received an award from Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission * Was honoured by San Jose City Government for her work with immigrants * Received certificate of Honour from Governor of California,

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

*Star award from Asian Community in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

She has won many accolades for her work, including the

Kempegowda Award The Kempegowda Award or Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Award is a civilian award presented annually by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The award nomination is based on the notable contributions of civilians, in th ...

2015, from the City of Bangalore. Women of the year “Shining star” award 2016 by CKC group, She was chosen as one of 100 women in India who make a difference in the society by BBC.Com. She is conferred with “Vasundara Mitra” Award 2016 by Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Limited. Recently she featured in a book “Dream Chasers” Women Entrepreneurs from the south of Vindyas.

References

External links

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