A series of impactful field visits, hands-on training programs, and collaborative engagements marked a significant month for Amrita’s sustainability and women empowerment initiatives. Led under the vision of Amma — Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi — the activities showcased Amrita’s deep commitment to circular economy practices, community development, and skill-building for women across rural and urban India.
Shweta Lanke Kane visited the EcoKaari unit in Pune, which upcycles wrappers into fashion accessories. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen our similar initiative in recycling and upcycling solid waste. EcoKaari serves as a model for women’s livelihoods, with women engaged in pre-looming, looming, and finishing processes.
The visit provided valuable exposure to sustainable practices that prevent waste from ending up in landfills. EcoKaari operates from Pune with access to domestic markets and offers handholding support in quality management and production processes.
Location: NDA Road, Pune
Activity: Upcycling wrappers into fashion accessories
Shweta Lanke Kane, along with Green Society office bearers and Neeta Ganguly, held discussions on zero waste initiatives. The visit focused on witnessing how waste can be upcycled into various organic products.
My Green Society is a pioneer in cleaning drives, waste segregation, and creating waste management networks involving partners, volunteers, and consultants. The group also engages tribal women in producing cloth bags from discarded hotel linens and conducts workshops for domestic waste management and internships for college students.
They have expressed their support in designing programs for students, ocean cleanups, and environmental awareness campaigns.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Activity: Waste upcycled into organic products
Training was provided by Muskan to Sumalakshmi ji, a Vishwakarma Project alumna, for Tula production. The session covered constructing a V-neck dress with elasticated shirred sleeves, focusing on implementing new seam finishes and attaching pockets.
Location: Karunagappally, Kollam
Activity: Training for Tula production – V-neck dress with elasticated sleeves
Muskan conducted training for Vijaylakshmi ji, a Vishwakarma Project alumna, on constructing a Kimono wrap top, emphasizing adequate seam allowance and finishing techniques for Tula production.
Location: Vallikavu, Kollam
Activity: Training for Kimono wrap top
Muskan Chhatwal visited Sreeshma ji of Ayanivelikulangara to give the training by Muskan for sampling a boxy fit top and laying emphasis on adding adequate seam allowance and using the seam finishes as directed for dress items of Tula production. Ayanivelikulangara, Kollam.
On 8th October’ 2025, Visited Sreeshma ji of Ayanivelikulangara to give the training by Muskan for the boxy fit top and laying emphasis on adding adequate seam allowance and using the seam finishes as directed for dress items of Tula production. Ayanivelikulangara, Kollam.
Muskan provided detailed feedback to Vishwakarma Project alumni on garments produced under Tula – The Label by Anantashri.
Location: Vallikavu, Kollam
Activity: Feedback session for Tula production garments
On 8th October’ 2025, RVSM school students visited the Women Empowerment Exhibition. They were very interested in knowing about the products. About who all made these products. One of their teachers was asking to keep the things for sale too. Teachers and students were very inspired and were willing to purchase the products. These students were 11th and 12th STD students. In just 10 days, over 3,500 teachers and students from 37 schools across Kerala have visited the grand Amritavarsham 72 Exhibit — a vibrant showcase of Amrita University’s innovations and M.A. Math’s global humanitarian work.
Leading media houses from Kerala and Tamil Nadu have featured the exhibit during prime time, capturing its spirit of compassion and innovation.
Highlights:
A stunning art gallery featuring creations made from waste collected at Amritapuri — transformed by students and artists into meaningful art.
Plastic refuse is handloomed and upcycled into wearable accessories by women trained under AMMACHI Labs and the Center for Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality (CWEGE) — inspiring students and media alike.
Exciting rural technology innovations — from human-animal conflict prevention tools to robotics programs, drone learning, and Hakshi Social Bot simulators — sparking curiosity and collaboration.
The exhibit continues to welcome schools and colleges nationwide, generating tremendous interest among young minds and educators.
On 8th October’ 2025, Sudha and Ambujam did quality training on the draw string pouch for Katilkadavu group .Kattilkadav , Kollam.
On 8th October’ 2025, Giving feedback by Muskan to Vishwakarma passed out student about the garment samples made by them for Tula the label by Anantashri.Vallikavu , Kollam.
Members from the Swachhta Mission Kerala visited our stall and expressed interest in our ongoing projects. During discussions, our Kattilkadavu group’s work was highlighted, which impressed the visiting coordinator. He expressed interest in future collaborations and collected our contact details for upcoming programs.
Location: Kollam, Kerala
Activity: Interaction with Swachhta Mission Kerala representatives
On 19th Oct’ 2025 Kattilkadavu stitching unit got the order from AIMS Cochin for 200 bags for a conference meeting of 27th Annual CME IAP-ID Hepatopancreaticobiliary Pathology which is going to held on 1st and 2nd Nov’ 2025. Kattilkadav, Kollam.
On 24th Oct, Seamstress Aswathy, Sreeshma and Bincy graduated from our SANKALP AVSAR tailoring course from the Alapad Panchayat of Kerala working together to make Vegetable shopping bags that would be stylish and reusable.
150 foldable polyester bags were distributed by the WNA team as a part of their initiative to reduce single use plastic bag consumption in Amma’s adopted north Indian villages in Haryana and Rajasthan. The project endeavors to enable behavioral change and will be followed up with a research study to gauge its effectiveness.
On 24th Oct’ 2025 Kattilkadav received an order for 165 bags from HuT Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, for the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics scheduled to be held on 7th and 8th November 2025. The order was undertaken and completed by the Shivashakthi Group. Although the scheduled delivery date was 3rd November 2025, the group successfully completed the production and delivered all the bags ahead of time on 1st November 2025.
On 30th Oct’ 2025, A brief visit by students of 1st year CSE to Sivasakthi tailoring unit
As a part of the compassion in Action project 9 students visited the unit to understand first hand the process products and challenges a women led enterprises encounters.
During their visit they shared with them designs and quotes that are trending with the current gen z population and also helped them troubleshoot by teaching them how to transfer a file from the phone directly to the pendrive using an OTG device.
Students learnt how tiring and repetitive a production unit’s work can be and were very surprised to see the amount of effort it goes into making one single bag. The coming week and next they will be visiting the Center for women’s empowerment and Gender equality to develop a strategy to promote the products within the college campus of Amritapuri.
