Telangana government-promoted hardware incubator T-Works and GE Appliances will collaborate to convert a grassroots invention -- biodegradable pots for saplings in nurseries – of a 14-year-old school student Srija in Gadwal into a micro enterprise.
The enterprise, to come up in Gadwal, will generate jobs while also contributing to environmental sustainability. Made from discarded groundnut shells, Biopot, the invention is an eco-friendly alternative to the black plastic bags used in nurseries for growing saplings, T-Works said in a release on the collaboration with the Haier company.
In September, T-Works had unveiled the biopress machine it had designed for mass production of the biopots. A live demonstration of the machinery was made on Friday in which volunteers from GE Appliances got hands-on experience of manufacturing biodegradable pots.
T-Works said it worked closely with Srija and her mentor Augustien, who had approached the incubator through the Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC), and came up with the machine. CEO Sujai Karampuri said “after developing a mechanism to mass produce the biopots, we are now moving a step closer to setting up an industry based on this idea. This is why T-Works exists, to create impact on the ground.” The partnership with GE Appliances is only the beginning of a strong collaboration based on shared values. T-Works will continue to collaborate with corporations, grassroots innovators and ecosystem partners to translate innovation into impact, he said.
GE Appliances has decided to support the initiative through the CSR towards setting up a small-scale domestic enterprise for manufacturing biopots in Gadwal district.
