Project Ibtida

One-stop solution that tackles the problem of stubble burning and carbon emissions. Our vertical lays an impact by making products out of Agrocrete®️ and providing a sustainable alternative.

Project Ibtida embodies the principles of scientific innovation and invention by tapping into the unidentified sources of air pollution and upcycling industrial waste such as fly ash and agricultural waste into ingenious utility products like planters, candleholders, lamps, desk organizers, utility trays, bookends, stools, coasters, wall clocks and much more under our brand ‘Sanscrete’.

With the help of scientific innovation and technology from our collaborators at GreenJams, we use Agrocrete®, which is a carbon negative alternative to regular cement, to manufacture our product lines, laying a two-fold impact by providing a better alternative to plastic and concrete utility products.

The texture and characteristics of agrocrete are very similar to that of concrete. It is not only as strong and durable, but also cost-efficient, lighter in weight, and more water-resistant than Portland cement. 

Agrocrete® is a carbon negative material, which means it actively absorbs more CO2 in its lifetime than what was produced while making it hence, initiating a big leap towards fighting climate change. 

With project Ibtida, we aim to combat the evil effects of air pollution. 11 out of the 12 most polluted cities in the world are located in India. Air pollution affects over 55 million people each year and is responsible for 2.5 million deaths annually. 

One major contributor to these alarming numbers is stubble burning. Farmers across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan,burn about 23 million tonnes of paddy stubble every year. These large areas of agricultural lands set ablaze every year are contributing to the air pollution that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), kills 7 million people a year including 650,000 children. The impact of this pollution is two fold- the first is the on-site impact leading to removal of a large portion of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and loss of other useful microflora and fauna from the soil. The second is the off-site impact is the aggravation of health related issues due to degradation of general air quality. This leads to an increase in numbers in respiratory diseases such as cough, asthma, bronchitis, eye and skin diseases, and chronic heart and lung diseases. 

Another major contributor to the pollution is the concrete industry. The concrete industry is responsible for 7% of the total carbon emissions. In India alone, it contributes to over 30% of the air pollution leading to various problems. 

We impact different segments of population from three angles.

By processing more stubble, we aim to solve the root cause of the problem.

Stubble burning contributes majorly to the total air pollution in Northern parts of India, hence affecting the general population. Analysing the AQI patterns, we learned how they rise and resonate with the crop harvest season. At a larger scale, our solution aims to improve the lives of the people that suffer from the severe consequences of air pollution. At this rate we aim to expand our solution to farmers globally and subsequently provide a sustainable solution. 

We also impact the lives of farmers, who in practise, have no other choice but to burn the agricultural residue. Assessing their needs, we acquire this stubble for them for a reasonable price. 

Under Project Ibtida, we’ll be directly working together to meaningfully improve the lives of people from underprivileged sections of society. We have formed synergistic collaboration with Prabhaav NGO, which has been working towards uplifting the underprivileged section of the community. We aim to provide a sustainable source of employment to these beneficiaries and increase their income generation capacity. 70% of the profit that we’ll earn through sales will go to our beneficiaries, enabling them to be self-sufficient. 

We conducted extensive market research and surveys to create the perfect blend of aesthetics and functionality of home decor items and designed our product to cater to interior and exterior needs. In this market survey we analysed the current trends, demands and patterns in the industry. With this research, we were able to come to the conclusion that consumers are now making sustainable choices and are prioritizing quality over other things. 

 We also studied the functioning and models of our competitors who offer similar products to fulfill decor needs but are made of concrete.

We’ve worked with a Delhi based organisation called Arts4All and students from Jamia Millia Islamia Institute of Delhi which helped us gain insights in designing and product development.

Established in 2021, successful research and development have been conducted to produce Agrocrete®. This carbon-negative material which has been made from agricultural by-products has been prototyped to guarantee improved energy efficiency. We have tested Agrocrete® to make a variety of construction and home-decor products like solid and hollow blocks, wall clocks, planters, and coasters. Our labour-intensive production process provides employment opportunities to the artisan and mason community. Agrocrete® has a high thermal performance and a low environmental impact. With its competitive metrics and price point, it has the potential to be a real alternative to conventional concrete. After thorough research and conducting an in-depth market survey, we found out that the demand for home-decor products is constantly on the rise. This provides us with the perfect platform to launch our line of sustainable home-decor products. We aim at following a zero-waste business model that includes the collection of stubble from farmers at fair prices, thus, providing them with an alternative to stubble burning. After developing Agrocrete® and manufacturing products out of it at our production unit, we sell them through our e-commerce platform.

Our solution is powered by the technological and scientific mentorship of our collaborators at Greenjams. We use boilers and mixers to convert it into Agrocrete which is then molded into our products using the silicon molds we design using the help of 3D printing and casting. Also, Since we are in a global pandemic  we completely depend upon technology and social media for marketing and sales of our products.

Our Project is in Prototyping stage. Under this Project we aim to serve a wide variety of audience.

Farmers

Our Project depends on procuring stubble from the farmers. We buy stubble from farmers in Punjab for $12-$20 per ton depending on the stubble. The agricultural waste that they earlier burned turns into an opportunity and provides them an alternative source of Income through Project Ibtida.  Our solution serves by not only giving them an alternative to stubble burning which negates the quality of their fields but only gives a fair price. 

Beneficiaries

Our beneficiaries include artisans and semi-skilled labor which work right from designing the product to its final sanding and coating. We train and employ people from the most underprivileged  sections of the society and provide them an opportunity to earn a livelihood by utilizing their skills. As of now we have 20 Part time and full time beneficiaries and as we bring  our solution to markets and expand our project we estimate to employ more than 50 people by the end of this year.

Since our project tackles the grave issue of air pollution and solves the problem of stubble burning and make sustainable home decor products replacing concrete and plastic products we directly and indirectly impact a major section of Northern India affected by carbon emissions from the burning of stubble  and subsequently also help population affected by pollution from the cement and plastic industry

Sanscrete-With ‘Sanscrete’ our first vertical under Project Ibtida we aim to impact and reduce the pollution levels where we combine the evils of stubble burning with the ever increasing demand of home decor products and provide a sustainable alternative. 

Environmental Impact 

By upcycling 50000kg of stubble, we aim to prevent about 60000kg of CO2, 16000kg of organic carbon and other pollutants this year, thus retarding climate change. 

The amount of plastic demand reduced is measured directly by the volume of our product in the market while preventing and capturing air pollution . 

Our Packaging is also made entirely of stubble making each product completely sustainable. 

Beneficiaries

By buying stubble from farmers at a fair price we aim at increasing farmers’ income by over $570-$1020 ($12-$20 per ton), while providing job opportunities to over 20 beneficiaries ( Semi-skilled labor and Artisans) involved in the supply chain and manufacturing the products.

With Project Ibtida our aim is to diversify into more carbon negative alternatives like Hemp through research and collaborations and Thus subsequently increasing our impact numbers both in terms of environmental impact and the lives that are  impacted by our project.

Our impact goals are to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions. The direct progress measurement is done by keeping account for the amount of stubble captured and processed for which we will always have exact figures. Then by the amount of emissions that are produced on burning a ton of stubble, we can calculate and get an estimate of volume of emissions directly prevented. The progress will also be measured by the supplementary income that we provide farmers with. With operations scaled to our expected levels in 2 years we can hopefully see a shift in seasonal rising AQI trends.

With our marketing campaigns we also plan to increase customer awareness and surveys can be an instrument in assessing the percentage of people who adopt to sustainable practices.

When project was in concept note development phase we conducted a survey to find how many people are aware of /support sustainable practices in general. Then in the product development phase, a survey was conducted to find out how many people were willing to pay the worth of sustainable products when cheaper options are available. After the business is scaled, through a third survey, we will be able to see the shift in consumer trends.

Financial Barriers: 

The setting up of a production center in Delhi requires heavy investment due to the installation of industrial equipment such as sanding machines, silicon moulds , vibrating tables and storage which adds to the expense along with transportation of raw materials and products.

Technical Barriers:

Conducting research to refine the process of biological carbon sequestration by prototyping with other carbon-negative materials and industrial instruments requires finances, expertise, and extensive research to enable continuous supply chain of resources and equipment.

Market Barriers:

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the target audience has limited accessibility to the products that produces distrust as Agrocrete® is a new product and there will be skepticism about its properties in the market  due to which stores are reluctant to give our products a shelf space.

The marketing of the products requires a budget allocation for digital marketing such as conducting product photoshoots and running advertisements on social media platforms.

The marketing of the products requires a budget allocation for digital marketing such as conducting product photoshoots and running advertisements and video ads on social media platforms.

The team at Enactus Aryabhatta works with utmost dedication and diligence to achieve the target of sustainability set by the United Nations. While emerging from diverse academic backgrounds such as Economics, Mathematics, Psychology, Business Management, Political Science, Computer Science, and Commerce, we strive to fulfill common objectives which augment the achievement of one fundamental goal - making the world a better place. The members of the society are assigned to various departments (such as Research and Development, Marketing, Content, and Design and Technology) where the whole process, from the inception of an idea to the attainment of results, takes place under the guidance of our core members, faculty advisors, and industry experts. Our small team is a part of a substantial family of Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi and we persist to rise by lifting others. Our team comes from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds which helps us come up with ideas that are sensitive to the needs of every demographic. A majority of our team resides in Delhi and neighbouring cities that provides them with first hand experience of the toxic cloud of air englufing the city. The continuously deteriorating AQI levels make it difficult to breathe properly while giving birth to numerous diseases. Having experienced the level of harm that can be caused by these grave problems fuel the motivation of our members to work upon our solution and amplify its impact to a wider audience.

Ibtida is currently in a partnership with Greenjams and Prabhav NGO. With the help of our collaborators at GreenJams and their scientific expertise, we use Agrocrete® and mold it into home decor products with the help of artisans at Prabhaav NGO. With the provision of vocational training and development, the beneficiaries at Prabhaav are able to manufacture products by harnessing their traditional skills.

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