A blue bus for a green future

Just last Friday, a brightly painted bus rolled into Chandigarh, announcing itself as the embodiment of a Skill Yatra, by an NGO, Lend-a-Hand. This was its fourth stop, after Pune, Bhopal and Delhi.

At Chandigarh, the bus-actually a skill laboratory with the kind of equipment kids in Grade 9 and 10 need-and the NGO, met with schools and officials. What took them on this Pune-Leh Yatra? I thought this blue-bus tacitly offered India a green message: Skills for youth will combat environmental degradation and damage.

This programme skills youth in carpentry, welding, gardening, amongst others. This is precisely what we need for re-making our materials into something new and re-crafting our lifestyles.

Welding can reduce metallic waste. Gardening, particularly urban gardening, is a key way forward to enjoy pesticide-free foods, especially greens. In a society like India, where those who can afford it rarely do the work on their own, skills for a greener lifestyle can play a game changing role. Imagine if, ten years hence, it is still cheaper to repair a table elegantly than buy a new one. It would set India apart from the ‘developed’ world as it functions today. The way forward is to seed this in the hands and minds of lakhs of young people, instead of letting a few companies monopolize skills to repair their gadgets, overcharge and push for obsolescence.

India is lucky to have an existing generation of that can repair and farm, but their children don’t aspire to be like them. Skilling kids in schools ensures we retain our green army.