The climate crisis is real. We have caused it, and we must fix it. “The evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions are choking our planet & placing billions of people in danger,” António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, said at the release of the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on August 9.

Two years ago, he had said the climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.

The signs are everywhere: from wildfires to massive glacial meltdown to increased cyclones and a record rise in global temperature. We cannot close our eyes to our new normal. Not the one with the COVID19 pandemic but the one with the reality of climate emergency.

While some governments have been proactive, only consolidated public support and mass action can win a race that can be won.

The Indian government’s August 13 notification banning the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic items from July 2022 was a much-needed action. The havoc created by single-use plastic items is beyond comprehension. The Great Pacific garbage patch is an example of the indiscriminate and unconscionable use of plastics.

Alternatives to plastics such as cotton, jute, bamboo, coconut shells and paper have been used in India for a long time. Our cottage industries make environment-friendly biodegradable products. We just need to rediscover the traditional, eco-friendly handicrafts and support our cottage industries. Our country has no dearth of talented craftsmen; what they lack is the right support.

When Soma Nama came to the Village Financial Services branch at Sabroom in Tripura, she wasn’t hopeful of getting a loan. She was apprehensive about whether her business of bamboo products will ever get financial assistance from us. But VFS heard her out and felt that she would succeed. Soma left the branch as a happy customer and a hopeful entrepreneur.

Soma and her husband had been weaving bamboo baskets and rice-dusting trays for many years now. It had been a family tradition that was passed down to them by their elders. The bamboo baskets are sturdy, durable and most importantly, biodegradable and free of harmful chemicals. Their light wood colour gives them an earthy aesthetic charm. The rice-cleaning bamboo trays are also used in religious ceremonies and festivals, especially in eastern India.

Soma made products of a quality that was rare to find in the area. People from her village were her regular customers. But her reach was limited to her small village. She was not left with much of a profit. She realised that to increase her sales, she needed to sell in the town markets. To ramp up production and pay for the logistics, she needed some capital.

But who would give her the capital? In a village of artisans, farmers and vegetable sellers, getting financial assistance was a difficult task. The village did not even have a proper moneylender.

Her sister-in-law insisted that she give the VFS branch in Sabroom a try. That was all it needed, a try...

Her sleepless nights ended when she left the VFS branch office with the assurance that her loan would be credited to her new bank account.

With the loan, Soma was able to buy bamboo strips in bulk. Her husband got involved full time in weaving the baskets and bamboo trays. Soon, they had built up a huge pile of products. Enough to take to the market. They hired a small truck.

They had already spoken to a trader in the market, who bought the entire lot at an attractive price. After that first sale, Soma never had to look back. Her business is thriving.

Soma knows nothing much about the science of global warming or the debate. She has never heard of Guterres.

But she knows her baskets will last for years. When they are beyond repair, they will be thrown away and rot gracefully without polluting the environment. Soon, there will be no trace of the basket.

But Soma will still be making bamboo products. She even plans to diversify her range with more help from VFS. Goodbye, plastics crates and trays.