Twenty-two year old Kriti Bista, a resident of Lalitpur Metropolitan City Ward 2, was at first unclear and unsure regarding attending the Tech Workshop organized by CLEAN UP NEPAL, since various questions filled her mind as to who would the participants be, what topics would be covered in the workshop, would it be fruitful enough or not. She did have a vague idea regarding the essence of the workshop in the sense that it would be something related to waste management, but that was it. Currently a student of Environmental Studies, she agreed to participate in the workshop, after being selected by the project team as volunteer for Green Empowerment through Vocational Training for Solid Waste Management in Lalitpur (GEMS-L), hoping that it would help her better understand its concepts.

She stated that since her family’s income source was limited, with her single mother being the lone bread-winner of the family, she was looking to take up small part time jobs along with her studies in order to ease the financial burden on her family. Once she came to know that CLEAN UP NEPAL was organizing a Tech Workshop for Solid Waste Management, she decided to participate in it, since it resonated with the subject she was studying and she felt she could learn something new which could help her do something in this sector.

In the 5-day Tech Workshop, she learned a great deal regarding waste segregation practices, composting, reusing and recycling approaches, she states. She remarks that recycling and upcycling were indeed fruitful approaches for minimizing wastes going to the landfill site thereby protecting the environment from pollution and its negative externalities. Also, the impacts of improper waste management on human health was another new learning she gained from the workshop. Hence to avoid these nuisances, one must ensure regular clean ups of the locality, starting from their own homes itself, she remarked.

Kriti reports that through the Tech Workshop, she understood about the stakeholders who were involved in the waste management sector in the locality and the importance of close coordination with them for effective and sustainable waste management. Learning about this ‘who is who’ in the waste management sector and the art of dealing with these various actors in the local level, was something new and very important for her, she remarks.

Moreover, the monetary stipend that she received as a volunteer for the GEMS-L project did support her in covering her personal expenses and reduced the financial burden of her family, she reports. Through the remuneration she received, Kriti was able to invest it in purchasing stationary items for her studies, covering up her transportation and lunch money during her classes, and remarks that she was happy for not having to ask her mother for it.

In sum, Kriti was happy with her involvement as a volunteer in the GEMS-L project, as she increased her understanding of waste management and how it ultimately aided in conserving the environment. She expressed that if the local government would support her, then she would definitely establish a career for herself in the Solid Waste Management sector in the future, after the completion of her studies.