S.V. Rajeshwar

A graduate from Anna University, Rajeshwar had been a part of the relief effort by Makkal Pathai when Ockhi cyclone had hit his district in 2017, providing food and other necessities and helping fix damaged roads. Having been turned towards social work, and becoming more and more aware of organic farming and renewable sources of energy, he eventually quit his job and started practicing sustainable living and raising awareness. During the same cyclone, Ruban was working with Makkal Pathai and was involved in the relief efforts too, which turned out to be the turning point in his life, and with the motto of looking after all living beings, Earkai Paathukappu Sangam was later started. As GreEntrepreneurs, they ran sessions with 60 volunteers from the communities on how the electricity we use on a daily basis is created, focussing on thermal and coal aspects of it, and its effects on the environment in terms of carbon emissions and ecological imbalance. This led to awareness within the community on alternative sources of energy. The project also identified the need for practical awareness, and provided houses with no electricity with solar panels. Members of the community have been identified to be trained as solar engineers and reaching out to local organizations and other stakeholders to raise funds and get to their goal of providing solar solutions in libraries, for street lamps, to low-income households and more.