INORA: Waste to Health

After decades of using chemical fertilizers to boost agricultural production, the world has finally realized the value of organic farming and is literally returning to its roots. Individual farmers and organizations are now promoting and adopting organic farming at a large scale. In the process they also deal with another global issue – waste management.
In Pune, India, Know How Foundation (KHF) was established to work in the area of organic agriculture, waste management and appropriate technologies that are sensitive to nature and the planet. KHF established INORA Biotech Pvt. Ltd. to provide R&D and technical development capability in organic farming, soil biotechnology, city farming and waste management. The following interview re-lives the story of KHF, INORA Biotech and Manjushree Tadvalkar, who come together to enrich the soil in a way prescribed by nature.

1. Kindly brief us about the Founder/CEO and the motivation behind venturing into this industry

• Manjushree Tadvalkar, holds an M.Sc. in Zoology and has always had a passion for learning about sustainable lifestyle and promoting it. Manjushree has developed her expertise in the field of vermiculture and soil health. She has used her knowledge and skills to the best of her ability to develop and create awareness on organic farming and decentralized waste management. Her efforts have now successfully reached 11 villages through CSR projects, 500 + urban housing societies and successfully implemented 14+ projects for companies to manage their organic waste sustainably. 

2. Kindly brief us about the company.

• The Institute of Natural Organic Agriculture (INORA) was founded in 1992 by M. R. Bhiday, an eminent Physicist from Pune and Dr. R. T. Dhoshi, as a division of Know How Foundation. The foundation works with an objective of developing and imparting know how in the field of organic farming, city farming, waste management, and overall a sustainable living. Since its inception, INORA has conducted numerous awareness and training programs among the citizens of Pune to help promote decentralized waste management. Through the medium of Garden Clubs it promotes city farming among the citizens. INORA directly works with farmers to promote organic farming and agro waste management to enrich the soil which is deficient of the required nutrition due to years of chemical based farming. Waste to Compost to Gardening / Agriculture has yielded some significant benefits like prevention of waste to landfill and sustainable resource creation for soil health. The Green-skilling programs have benefitted the Farmer groups, Women Groups, urban Citizens, Schools, Corporates,  Slums, Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies.

3. What are the company’s different solutions for treating waste?

• INORA helps create awareness on waste management, “WHY” it is important to segregate waste into organic, recyclables and the reject waste. And how organic waste can be treated in a decentralized manner at home  or within the society premises by using appropriate in-situ composting solutions.
• We work with the industries to treat Industrial sludge with organic treatment plants set up within the company campus
• We have Effluent treatment solutions, where we manage effluent waste organically
• We take care of sewage by setting up Sewage treatment plant that includes grey water as well, where we organically segregate the sewage and the water can be reused for watering landscapes and the sludge can be treated to make manure
• We also compost garden and agro waste to create manure out of it

4. What is the USP of the company that serves as an advantage over competitors and benefits clients/customers?

• Our USP is that our solutions address the complete 360 organic cycle to ensure sustainability. Our systems and technology in waste management care about the dignity and health of the people working in waste by providing them a sanitized work place. This approach has helped us change the attitude towards waste among the citizens, as they are now willing to have organic waste managed in their own backyards. Our R&D team is constantly working on improving our decomposing solutions to make the composting efficient and ensuring that the produced manure prescribe to the FPO standards. We are also improvising our solutions to be able to decompose efficiently all types of organic waste like feather waste from poultry shops, and degrade the new biodegradable disposables that have flooded our markets. In the area of organic farming we have developed inputs that enrich the soil and mobilize the missing organic matter in it, this helps reduce farming cost by reducing the dependence on chemical inputs and making farming water efficient.

5. Share with us the challenges faced by companies in this

• One of the biggest challenges that we face is to change the way people think about waste, they do not want to take any responsibility of the waste that they produce and have an apathy towards the waste and people working in waste. Whereas the waste generator plays the most important role in the management of waste – starting from reducing the waste they produce, composting their organic waste and segregation of dry waste to ensure it finds its way to recycling and not a landfill. Through our awareness programs we try to make people realize that the biggest hazard the earth is facing today is the disposal of waste and how they in their small way can contribute to make this earth a better place to live.

6. What role does technology play in managing waste?

• Technology has a vital role as it becomes our medium to communicate and share information with the masses. Also as technology evolves we will have more and more ways that help build a sustainable lifestyle.

7. How closely is the company attached with the Government’s Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan? And how does it benefit from the same?

• We closely work with the Urban Local Bodies, we collaborate for the Swachcha Maharashtra Mission which comes under the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan. Our projects in Malkapur – Kolhapur, Kasar Amboli & Sawardari (CSR Projects) projects have won Swachh Survekshan awards.
• Most of our projects through CSR are a part of Swachh Abhiyaan

8. How does the firm intend to increase social awareness about the benefits of Waste Management?

• We have multiple ongoing awareness programs like social entrepreneurs to reach out to housing societies, satellite centers in all areas of Pune for guidance and material availability, garden club, awareness programs for farmers in rural areas to support and promote organic farming,

9. What would be your advice for the budding start-ups and entrepreneurs in the industry?

• It is extremely important to give something back to society and environment. Always have a sustainable approach and try to think out of box. Team is the most important asset in the organization and it is important to take care of them and as well of your surroundings, do whatever small things possible for the areas that you are situated in and it will be a big contribution to the society

10. Brief us about the company’s future  perspectives

• We plan to reach out to more and more corporates and use their network to increase our reach in the society and help us take this initiative to various corners of the
• We also wish to closely work towards the capacity building of the government bodies (Zilla Parishads, Gram Panchayats and Swachhata Committees) to help them build a socially and environmentally sustainable approach of governance.