Towards the end of 2020, I found myself discussing the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural value chains. I do not know much about either subject. This article is thus my attempt to share the fundamentals of the supply chain, its impact on agriculture, and how we perceive food. In one way, imagine this to be an autobiography of food.

Prima facie, food on our plate is simply food bought from the kitchen, decorated on a plate. However, the journey is much longer and costlier. As per the Carbon Disclosure Project Global Supply Chain Report 2020 (February 2021), USD 1.26 trillion…

Two and a half years ago, I worked with the body established to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. Within the system, I promoted SDG 4 (Quality Education) through university partnerships. My role was to support universities around the world with SDG-focused Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), improving their curriculum and access to quality education. However, partnerships circumnavigated around bilateral support, excluding cross-collaboration or non-academic stakeholders.

Today, I am curious to know if partnerships with university-level institutions focused on students have evolved beyond MOOCs. Who is partnering, why is the partnership being formed, how do such partnerships function, and when does…

On 18th December 2020, I was invited to share opening words at my school’s (where I completed 10th grade) annual festival. The theme was Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Skill Development. This got me thinking. Why should school students discuss SDGs? What would the interaction yield? Structures of the education sector have not evolved in centuries: students, professors, classrooms, discussion, assignments, and then the next day back to school. However, the fact that a school decided to plan its upcoming year around SDGs, provides hints of innovation. In this case, then, the other two ‘I’s include inspiration and involvement at…

If we could see groundwater in decline, then we would probably not pollute or consume irresponsibly. This piece discusses first-hand action and conversations with 12 close friends from around the world who explain their deliberate efforts to reduce their water footprint.

Let us begin by understanding the water footprint. As per the Water Footprint Network, water footprint is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and/or polluted. As I feel that water should be an ongoing conversation, I would like to share conversations that I have had with my friends (across October). These were…

A fundamental discussion

Water is the basis for agriculture, manufacturing processes, household activities, public works, and even traded in financial markets, making it the foundation of progress. Finance, the enabling agent, makes water projects a reality. I would like to summarize the Horasis Extraordinary Meeting and few other discussions I attended that presented a buffet of finance for water, especially non-public sources of finance.

Village level impact

The Big Bang Theory (TBBT, a sitcom) invited us into the daily happenings of seven friends with varying levels of tolerance for each other. Amidst their adventures, there was a lot of indirect and direct water consumption. This was seen at home, through grocery shopping, at the university cafeteria, and during local outings. The more we reflect and familiarize ourselves with our water footprint, the better for all of us. I write this piece to address the threat of unsustainable utilization of water. It is relevant to each one of us, every day, on any given day.

So, before we…

You have finally decided that the environmental field is where you wish to make a career. Let us hold that thought for a second. I would bet that this decision is based on a perception of what you think happens in an environmental career based on a host of non-commercial experiences. You might want to read the previous sentence again…

This story is about my journey into the environmental field and the questions I have been asked, professionally, during interviews and jobs.

One may make this decision based on beautiful childhood experiences such as going on a nature trail, swimming…

There are times when you would have asked yourself: ‘is this where I want to be’? Subconsciously, the ‘where’ is the wait before having made it to that better place. This story is about how I deal with the wait, keeping positive at all costs.

In 1996, I had a beautiful experience to study in an international school at the primary level. To re-live the experience of being immersed in such an environment became my end goal. Finally, it happened. I went back to the same country for a master’s education. Now that I reflect, the master’s, as well, was…