Action Ant — Rohit Balamukund
Rohit, a student of Grade 6 from Sri Kumaran Children’s Home, started his journey of public problem-solving in June 2018. Since then he has been taking small tangible steps in his school, home, and neighborhood towards a sustainable planet. Take a look here —
School: Tag The Tap
Observing that his friends at school were not aware of the steps they could take to stop the taps from leaking in their handwash, washrooms, and canteen area. He decided to focus on this problem and drive change in his school. Rohit gave a speech in his assembly underlying the need for saving water by sharing his findings from the water audit done at school during a Reap Benefit session. He realized quickly that, that wasn’t enough.
He took feedback from his teacher, Ms. Prashanti and came up with a system to number the taps in the Middle School. Once all taps were numbered, a reporting mechanism was established. If a tap is leaking, the students are supposed to tag that tap ’s number on the main notice board in the building. This information is then conveyed to support staff who with the support of administrative staff fix those taps. He then went on promoting this system amongst his friends through posters and direct engagement.
12 taps were reported leaking within a month of its implementation and 9 taps were fixed immediately saving 900 Litres of water annually.
Home: Nudge based Solutions
At his home, Rohit realized that their electricity consumption is high since lights and fans are left on even when not in use. He used the tool of trigger mapping and identified the “Why no” for his family. He then decided to build a nudge based door marks which tell the user switch off the light and fans before leaving the room.
During one of our session, Rohit was introduced to Soap Nut solution and he asked his grandparents about its uses. He was shocked to see how sustainable practices were followed in the early days and our dependency on regular chemical-based soaps has since been increasing. He then implemented the soap nut solution in his home for clothes and jewelry cleaning. He intends to replace all chemical-based soap at his home with Soap Nut solution.
Rohit also installed DIY Aerators at his home and came up with a new idea of balloon aerators after struggling to build with a rubber band.
Community: Install an Aerator
Rohit realizing that his actions would have greater impact if the community he lives in also start taking steps towards a sustainable planet. He then decided to pitch his idea of DIY Aerator to the families and homes in his community. Rohit discussed how a simple solution like an aerator — that they can build on their own in the comfort of their homes— can save 40% of the water already being wasted!
This inspired his audiences and he installed DIY Aerators at 5 homes in his community.
Rohit has taken his first step towards water and energy conscious lifestyle. He looks forward to continuing further and keep solving small, denting big in his community.
Rohit is one of the over 31,000 Solve Ninjas we engage on our platform. Interested to join him in creating change? Download the Solve Ninja app today and start solving in your communities.
