Kharkhardi villagers to live a smoke-free life

PUNE: The villagers of Kharkhardi, in Roha (Raigad district), will now be able to take a step towards living a sustainable and smoke-free life, as a start-up from Pune has donated smart stoves to the households there. The initiative was taken as it was found that the villagers of Kharkhardi were cutting a large number of trees for their fuel needs.

Monjin, an HR tech (start-up) company in collaboration with Envirofit, has donated smart stoves to 85 households in the village. The company intends on improving the lives of villagers of Kharkhardi while caring for the planet as a whole.

On the occasion of the distribution of the stoves, Abhijeet Kashyape, CEO and Co-founder, Monjin Interviews said, “We are committed to being a socially and environmentally conscious organisation and this initiative is our first step towards that. Our collaboration with Envirofit enables villagers at Kharkhardi to live a healthy life. Along with 60 enthusiastic Monjineers, we worked in collaboration with the villagers to create a sustainable environment of giving and contributing to Mother Earth.”

All the Monjin employees along with the leadership team planted 35 saplings near the village. The trees that the villagers were earlier chopping off for fuel had been intentionally planted over the years, by individuals attempting to reforest a barren land. Additionally, the smoke emitted by burning wood for cooking, is extremely harmful, not just for humans but for the environment as well. According to Envirofit, 1 billion tonnes of carbondioxide is produced by open fires each year, which contributes to 25 per cent of global black carbon emissions.

Harish Anchan, Managing Director, Envirofit said, “We are delighted to be associated with Monjin for their first CSR event and are encouraged by the fact that they chose to help build a greener future.”