From forest floor to future – Pine needles for material innovation and climate resilience

Background

Key Takeaways

Using the process of gasification, Avani Society has been harnessing energy from pine needles (sourced and collected locally), which can be utilized for electricity and power generation to meet human needs. The first power plant set up by the organization in region was in 2011 which contributed in its capacity to local power generation needs.

Later Avani Society reoriented its focus from energy production to using the raw material for producing high quality Biochar which has the following benefits:

Contributes to sustainable agriculture by the virtue of its benefits to soil ecology thus leading to increased agricultural productivity which in turn forms the infrastructure for climate resilient agriculture.

Carbon sequestration through biochar (removes carbon dioxide from the air and stores it in the soil), and looking at the avenues in global carbon markets through the medium of carbon credits, thus turning it into a revenue generation opportunity. This unique combination of environmental benefits and economic opportunity can be availed via carbon credits generated from biochar which are fully certifiable.

Ground water recharge through biochar especially considering the fast depleting ground water levels across the globe.

Gaurav’s research on pine needles being a bio composite material is also taking the shape of looking at the material as an alternative for packaging industries in shifting from plastic to an eco-friendlier raw material.

As Gaurav highlighted during the session, his research has recently attracted big corporations like TATA, Lancôme and Renault which are showing interest in exploring eco-friendly raw materials like pine needles in the production process of their business models. Thus proving that this material has tremendous scope of demand in the future.

Through his groundbreaking research work into the material potential of pine needles, Gaurav emphasizes on the need to introduce more eco-friendly raw materials into the global market so that these materials can be used to cater to producing tailored solutions for region specific issues and challenges. A tremendous support from the Government of India can also be observed in the present time where through instruments like policies and programs the govt in encouraging more research and innovation into finding solutions for sustainable development.

Nupur’s Pirul Handicrafts has a completely different focus with the use of same raw material. The enterprise engages in handicraft production through the medium of using locally sourced pine needles to craft home décor items and accessories. It provides employment to over hundred women in the Khetikhan village in Uttarakhand and also teaches them the skill of crafting products using pine needles.

Pirul Handicrafts as an initiative has had tremendous ripple effect benefits like community building, skill development and enhancement, employment generation, and women empowerment thus strengthening the social and environmental ecosystem of the local region. The enterprise meets both national and international demand for their products, with a major part of international supply going to Europe.

Nupur emphasized on rural supply chain being a major challenge for the business as factors like transpiration in mountain regions with difficult terrains and geographical distances affect the effective functioning. She feels that optimizing the supply chain can help the organization expand an scale up in the future.