Goonj is an initiative that utilizes urban discard to address rural development challenges, emphasizing a community-led approach where villages identify their own resource needs. The program includes various activities such as infrastructure rebuilding, educational support, and health initiatives, rewarding community labor with essential materials. Through projects like 'Cloth for Work' and menstrual hygiene awareness, Goonj aims to fill gaps in resources and empower local communities while promoting environmental sustainability.

1. Goonj : Turning Urban Discard as a development
Resource in rural areas
‘Beyond Cloth’
A comprehensive picture 2015-16

2. The non issue !!
Habib Bhai picked up unclaimed dead bodies from the roads of Delhi..
He said “in winters my work increases. I pick up 10-12 dead bodies everyday
His daughter said “In winters I hug a dead body . It doesn’t trouble me, it doesn’t
turn around”.

3. TransportationSorting &
Packaging
Awareness cum collection camps Kits received as a reward for the work
The Process

4. Goonj
“Beyond Cloth”
(our initiatives)
Rural
Development
Education Health Disaster Environment Livelihood
Cloth for
Work
School to
School
Not Just a Piece of
Cloth
Rahat
Green by
Goonj
Sujini Vaapsi
Water Infrastructure Sanitation Agriculture

5. Rural Development
“Cloth for work’’-
(CFW)
Communities in rural
areas come together
to solve their own
issues- repairing
roads, cleaning
ponds, digging wells
to building bridges.
They are rewarded
with need based
material in the form
of comprehensive
family kits
Filling the critical gaps in development resources
&
Dignifying the act of Giving !!

6. •Barter between labor and material; the two new currencies for the development
•Utilizing Urban discard as a developmental tool for Rural areas: circular economy model
•Reviving traditional structures with community intelligence
•Bottom- up approach as we don’t decide every village will have a road. It is the people of
the village, who decide what do they need..

7. Before
After
During
Water 146 Wells: Cleaned, repaired, made or deepened

8. Before After
Policy gaps.. Often there are schemes and budgets to make new ponds but
not to clean or revive the existing ones
Reviving local source of water : PONDS
Water

9. 50 ponds cleaned with Local Resources : Local Wisdom

10. Cleaning the pristine Dal Lake, Srinagar
160 boats, 300 people, 100,000 square meters of clean lake
Click here
for the
video

11. Soak Pits : for rain water harvesting & Ground water
rechargingWater

12. Hand Pump, Canals and check dams-repaired & made
Before
After
Water

13. Infrastructure 31 Bridges built & repaired

14. Infrastructure Roads in making

15. 494 Roads : Repaired & made

16. Infrastructure Re-building local infrastructure -
schools, parks, play- ground,
Maternity care unit, shelter homes to
other community spaces

17. Band Stands being made..
Infrastructure 100 Community structures made

18. Sanitation Clogged drains, dirty grounds, garbage dumps;
cleaned - 929 Activities

19. Agricultural Land bunding, kitchen garden, community
farming, plantation, improving irrigation
channel- 171 activities

20. 2315developmental activities in 1140 villages ..
Comprehensive family kits received as reward for the labor..

21. Activities and Villages under CFW
(FY2013–14–FY2015–16)
1,000
1,600
2,315
700 700
1,140
FY2013–14 FY2014–15 FY2015–16
No. of Activities No. of Villages

22. Education
“School to School (S2S)”
Filling critical gaps in
resource deprived schools,
Aanganwari’s,
informal setups in the
villages & slums.
Underutilized urban school
material reaches these
schools as a motivation for
behavioral and other
changes

23. Goonj school kits are rewarded as a motivating tool for behavior
change and other activites that kids participate
7690 School kits reached out as rewards

24. Turning Aanganwari’s and informal set ups into colorful and child
friendly places with toys, games etc from urban schools.. impact
described in a sentence by an Aanganwari worker; “earlier the kids
were not coming, now they don’t want to go back” !!

25. “Not Just a piece of
cloth’’
Reaching My pads as a
tool to open up the most
taboo issue of menstrual
hygiene & breaking the
culture of shame &
silence around the issue.
MY Pad, made from waste cotton cloth
Health

26. -Goonj’s work on 3As- Accessibility, Affordability & Awareness
-To break the myths around menstruation in rural as well as urban
areas
628595 My Pad kits distributed
251 awareness session in city
261 Awareness sessions conducted
in villages

27. IDEA is to Break the SHAME & SILENCE around
this issue.. Reflect and share your understanding
and experiences at
http://njpc.goonj.org/lets-get-started
Click here for
the video

28. Disasters “ Rahat”
With systematic and long term
approach- from relief to rehabilitation
Chamoli earthquake of 1999 to recent
cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu in 2016.

29. “Green by Goonj”
A wide range of
products created
from waste material
employing women
Environment

30. Livelihood “Sujni’’
A sujni is made by stitching together
layers of small and big pieces of waste
cloth.
- Utilization of tons of waste material
-Employment for large number of
Women
--Blanket in winters, Mattress in Summer
-Reviving age-old tradition
250 tons of absolute waste cloth
converted into 57,000Sujnis and
20,000aasans last year..

31. “Vaapsi”
As the name suggests its
an effort to reverse
migration
More than 30 odd
professions for the rural
areas
Goonj supports to
initiate rural business-
people pay back to the
community
Livelihood
75 ‘vapsi’ kits

32. Old furniture provides
better seating in schools
Discarded doors, windows
to build structures
Airport authority lighters/
match boxes to light
chulhas
Discarded frames to give
vision
Goonj utilizing variety of urban material to fill rural gaps

33. Filling the gaps in resources
Old sewing machines into
stitching centers
Setting up musical classes
with discarded musical
instruments
Opening rural computer
centers with
laptops/computers
1.

34. Winners are rewarded with the materialEncouraging Sports..

35. Old prams, crutches & Wheel chairs proving
accessibility
Differently abled

36. Reducing burden and expenses :A typical
Wedding Kit includes the wedding dress for the bride and
bridegroom, general clothing, footwear, purse, makeup box,
cosmetics, jewelry, bed sheets and a set of utensils.
Wedding Kit..

37. 29 First-aid Centers , 13,500 Rubber Gloves , 15,000
Masks, Medical supplies to 14 govt. hospitals in J&K
itself
Medicines &
medical
equipments

38. How to engage with Goonj..
Employee engagement:
•Visiting Goonj Processing Centers
• Hands on exposure to material handling and management
•Awareness sessions and sharing of informative videos and films
•Exposure visit to implementation areas
•‘Talk to 10’ – speak to at least 10 people. Spread Goonj’s work with
schools, Colleges & other organisations/institutions
• Tell us what specific skill you can bring as volunteer.
•Strengthen the work by observing Menstrual Hygiene Day, Cloth week
with Goonj..

39. How to engage with Goonj..
Participation in Goonj campaigns or contribute your Dead Inventory
One sided used paper, Spectacles, Sports material , toys & games,
Stationery , Woolens, Uniforms , Cotton Cloth etc.
Ongoing engagement
•Green by Goonj stalls, Book Fairs
•Use Green by Goonj Conference Kits
•Collection cum awareness drives in multiple location offices
•Contributing old office material, working computers etc.
•Contributing old news papers, envelopes, used paper etc

40. As a Institution
Specific initiative based contribution
Contributing to Goonj through other portals like Give India, Ketto etc
Pay roll giving for Goonj
As an Individual
Contributing to Goonj through other portals like Give India, Ketto etc
 Goonj ki Gullak small change for social change
Team 5000 - join a group of 5000 people who commit an annual contribution
 Sponsorships
Financial Engagement with Goonj

41. Establishing old material as a tool for social change
To make people
aware of their
basic rights
And to tell
people-the
massive
potential
they have!!
To free up meagre
resources of
people
for other pressing
needs
To mobilise large
scale civic
participation
To fill urban-
rural divide
To focus on
ignored basic
needs
To value local
wisdom and
resources

42. Thank you !!
Connect with GOONJ..
Call; 011- 26972351, 41401216
Email- mail@goonj.org
Web- www.goonj.org
www.facebook.com/goonj.org www.twitter.com/goonj