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Showing posts from March 10, 2009


Avacayam in Delhi – Mentally Challenged Young Adults produce Gulal for Holi from Flowers

Avacayam meaning dazzling flowers in Sanskrit is the program begun by Society for Child Development (SFCD) and supported by the Department of Environment that converts hundreds of kilos of waste flowers in non-toxic gulal for Holi. Avacayam today provides regular income to 1,500 disabled adults and helps in creating environmental friendly Holi colors. The Holi color produced by SFCD is available in South Delhi . Girija Duggal writes in Hindustan Times  Says the NGOs executive director Dr Madhumita Puri, “No one has really looked at the opportunity to provide the mentally challenged a space in a [manufacturing] chain, where they could be productive,” says Puri. It was this that led to the formation of Avacayam.  Discarded flowers from temples, marriage pandals, homes and nine hotels in the city are used for this purpose. And the simple task of cutting petals provides them a regular income — for every kilogram of petals cut, they earn Rs 50-100.  In i