Manisha Gutman does not like her organisation eCoexist being dubbed an NGO. Founder director of this Pune-based company, Manisha, takes pride in saying that eCoexist is, in fact, a social enterprise.
Manisha, originally a member of the green NGO Kalpavriksha, branched off to start eCoexist four years ago with the primary objective of bringing quality, environment friendly products to the urban Indian’s doorstep. “There was an urgent need to bring recycled, natural products into mainstream life. However, to effectively market these products, at the same time keeping the production unit financially viable, one needed an enterprise. This is how eCoexist was born,” says Gutman.
Among the many projects and initiatives undertaken by Gutman and her business partner Lolita Gupta, manufacture and distribution of natural colours made from farm produce, take pride of place.
This is how the project works. First, the Pune enterprise buys around 3,000kgs of natural colours made by poor women farmers from northern Karnataka. These are then packed by the female inmates of the Yerawada jail. Finally the products made using these colours are marketed through a well-established network spread across eight Indian cities.
This year, none other than the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) purchased 250kgs of natural colours from eCoexist and distributed it to slum children in Mumbai through the educational NGO, Akanksha.
Gutman’s greatest achievement lies in the fact that she has made the business of eco-friendly products and services viable. “The objective is to ensure that as many disadvantaged groups as possible can earn from this venture. Be it the poor women farmers or the women prisoners; everybody gets to make some money for a good cause,” she says.
However, this hasn’t been a cakewalk. Manisha admits that it is difficult to change urban mindsets. “Urban people often compare our slightly costlier products with mass-produced, non eco friendly ones. But we are making progress. More and more people are buying into our philosophy,” she says.
Manisha rates the hearty banter with the women prisoners of the Yerawada jail as very special. “When they pack our products, they forget their past. We have a good laugh over a joke or two. That is priceless,” she says.
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