Aarti Kelkar - Khambete

Aarti Kelkar - Khambete
It's not just about rape!
Women need toilets, not only to protect themselves from rape but to also preserve their dignity and health. Sanitation is a fundamental human right and not just temporary media hype.
Posted on 05 Nov, 2014 11:17 AM

Nandatai and her 16 year old daughter Phula creep out of their houses quietly in the wee hours of the morning into the dark fields to relieve themselves before everyone wakes up. It is an everyday story as this is the only time in the day that they have privacy. “It is so shameful to go out in the fields during the day”, says Nandatai. “We have to hold our urine till it gets dark.

Women in rural areas (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Dhanushkodi: stuck between science and religion
The Sethusamudram canal might aid shipping traffic in the area but how will it impact the fisherfolk who totally depend on the sea and the island for their livelihoods?
Posted on 04 Nov, 2013 09:34 PM

Dhanushkodi, bordered by the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, was a major point of entry to India until 1964, when a cyclone devastated the entire town [1]. Now, only a few fisherfolk remain. 

The fisherfolk of Dhanushkodi
Harbour'ing the fisherfolk
This photo essay shows the poor living conditions of the fishing communities of Vizhinjham, Kerala. Will making it an international port help or cause more harm?
Posted on 04 Nov, 2013 05:03 PM

The fisherfolk in Kerala have their own distinctive culture and share a special relationship with the sea and the environment. Although they are an important community in the system, they have remained neglected despite the higher socio-economic progress of the state as a whole.

The fisherfolk of Vizhinjham, Kerala
Can we keep blaming dengue on climate change?
Poor sanitation, poor waste management systems and poor urban planning are the real causes of dengue. Find out what we can do to prevent this disease.
Posted on 25 Aug, 2013 10:15 PM

Shantamma woke up one morning with a high fever. She also had a sudden pain at the back of her eyes and severe joint pain. She had been finding it very difficult to move around and go on with her daily routine. And it was quite a tedious routine, which began at 5 a.m. She was a house maid and worked at multiple houses every day.

Mosquito bites - the cause for dengue fever
Rainwater harvesting saves college lakhs of rupees
Yenepoya Medical College in Mangalore, which has implemented rainwater harvesting (RWH) within its campus has reduced its dependence on water tankers.
Posted on 20 Jul, 2013 11:04 AM

Yenepoya Medical and Dental College, some 15 kilometres away from Mangalore city near Delarekatte, is located in a developing neighbourhood; three other medical colleges, many schools and the Mangalore University are all situated in the same area. A software park is also expected to come up shortly.

Rainwater harvesting pond in Yenepoya College
Simple but unique idea revives a pond in Kerala
Pallichal panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district has turned a neglected pond into a clean and beautiful space that is also helping alleviate drought.
Posted on 12 Jul, 2013 03:12 PM

Pallichal panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram is one of its best performing panchayats. It has received a number of awards for achieving high literacy levels, keeping up good sanitation practices and for implementing a number of agricultural and irrigation initiatives.

The revived Vetubali pond in Pallichal panchayat
From worshipped to diseased - the slide of the Karamana river in Kerala
The Karamana, which flows through Kerala's capital city Thiruvananthapuram is now so polluted that it is closed to residents. Will the city figure out a way to clean it up?
Posted on 05 Jul, 2013 07:55 AM

Karamana, the pride of Thiruvananthapuram and an important source of drinking water for the city, is now dreaded and diseased. Parts of the river have been closed to residents now because they are so polluted. What was once a thriving river is now being used as a garbage dump. I decided to trace the path of the river to see how bad the damage really was. 

Karamana river from the Karamana Bridge
Report on the "National level workshop on appropriate toilet technologies", organised by Gramalaya, Arghyam and UNICEF at Trichy, Tamil Nadu, between 9-11 May 2012
This article by Aarti Kelkar - Khambete describes the proceedings of a workshop organised by Gramalaya, Arghyam and UNICEF that focused on appropriate and low cost toilet technologies
Posted on 02 Sep, 2012 07:00 PM

Current evidence has shown that a large population of people in India practice open defecation and do not use toilets even when available.

Working with data - A workshop on understanding, visualising and mapping data, organised by Transparent Chennai, between 3rd to 5th August 2012
The data camp focused on training activists, researchers and students to work with data and learn about open data, data visualisation, spatial data
Posted on 14 Aug, 2012 10:32 AM
This workshop organised by Transparent Chennai at The Institute of Financial Management and Research, Chennai was the outcome of the experiences of the earlier open data camp events organised by Transperant Chennai in Bangalore and Hyderabad, where there was a wide discussion among attendees who were
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