Trekking Towards Cleaner Himalayas
On International Mountain Day — 11/12/2020
A good day to post an old interview from 2019 with the Founder of Healing Himalayas org.
Himachal has always been a traveller’s paradise with an unending scope of adventure, leisure and sightseeing. And thus, thrives quite a lot on its tourism. However, this inflow of tourist and adventure enthusiasts has left the once pristine mountains in a suffocating state. The not so clean Himalayas urge for some cleaning, some healing.
“It may not irk you one bit throwing a wrapper on the road, but would you do the same in your living room? Cleanliness is a responsibility that comes easy when there’s a sense of belongingness.” That’s the sense that drives Pradeep Sangwan, a trekking enthusiast turned environmentalist who has found the true purpose of his life in Healing Himalayas!
Trekking with a purpose — to teach people trek responsibly and encourage them to clean up the mess on the trek route has been his driving force since 2011. Today, this zeal has led to sweeping away over 600 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste from various trekking spots in the Himayalan belt in Himachal Pradesh.
Here’s a rendezvous with the founder of Healing Himalayas, the NGO carrying out the largest clean-up drives in the mighty Himalayas.
How did the journey start?
Not very different from the story of any returning trekker in the Himalayas, I was awestruck by its beauty and each time I went on a trekking trip, I longed for more. Thus, continued my expeditions. I eventually moved from Haryana to Himachal in 2009, to fully enjoy my heart’s delight. I had opened a café “Cafe Zeppelin’’ and continued to carry out excursions off and on. But with time, my viewpoint saw a sea change and during my trekking I started to see more than the all engulfing beauty of the mountains. I began noticing the mess, the litter and the deprecating impact this had on the milieu I was in love with. That’s when I decided to single-mindedly focus on cleaning the treks I treaded on.
So how did this individual effort shape into a structured organisation?
After a few years of finding my true purpose of combining adventure and cleaning drives; I realised this individual effort can seek more helping hands and create a larger difference. The realisation was met with overwhelming support as people came forward. The inception of Healing Himalayas came about with the objective of giving an organized shape to the efforts of all the volunteers that participated in the cleaning drives, while reaching out to more people and creating awareness. After delving long, Healing Himalayas was founded in 2016 and in a span of 3 years we’ve truly made a positive impact, not just in terms of cleaner trekking routes, but a cleaner psyche too!
So how does it all work? Which treks do you cover? How do you organize these cleaning drives?
From random expeditions to well organized camps, we’ve come a long way. Today, our schedules are jam packed. We’ve not only set our channels for collecting waste but also segregating and disposing it off in the correct manner. All the plastic waste we collect is sent out to the energy plants –one in Shimla and another in Manali, which has recently commenced its operations.
Besides cleaning drives on our usual treks (Kheerganga being at the top of the list, then Kalpa, Parashar Lake, Mantalai Lake, Potter’s Hills (Shimla)); we had recently organized a cleaning drive in Spiti Valley, which saw tonnes of waste removal, where plastic dump had outweighed the oxygen levels at the high altitude of 3800 metres. And that not the battle is won. Collecting waste is not even half the goal met. We literally had to bring down the dump, hold it and wait for a month to transport the same to the right place — energy plant, to ensure our cleaning efforts align with the larger goal of saving the environment.
The efforts are being acknowledged and met with support from travellers, local communities as well as government bodies. To keep it sustainable and effective, we do charge the volunteers a minimal amount for their food and stay. The volunteers’ physical capabilities are also accessed before enrolling them for a difficult trek because the biggest trouble point I’ve observed in today’s enthusiastic traveller is that they want to do everything that is in vogue without being aware of the on-ground challenges. And trust me, the adrenal rush is not enough to complete the trek, handling one’s trekking gear and constantly collecting the dumped trash enroute.
How challenging is it to find the right volunteers?
As I said, it’s indeed a tough task to assemble the volunteers because trekking & cleaning together is more challenging than thought. However, with more visibility to our work through social media circles, we’ve built a great community. I have observed a positive change since last year. There’s not just been an increase in people coming forward, but an increase in the right ones joining the mission. Sensible and genuine trekkers have joined us who are willing to toil hard and dissociate from the dreamy idea of trekking only for the purpose of self-indulgence and social media uploads.
What about support from the government?
It’s there. The Department of Environment Science & Technology Himachal Pradesh, the forest department, pollution control department have all connected with us to support their activities. We are working to provide them with end-to-end practical solutions, using the experience and on-ground learning, acquired in these years.
In return, we have managed to get support from them to dispose of the collected waste. We collect the garbage, segregate it too, bear the transport cost on our own and then send it off to their energy plans for the proper disposing and upcycling.
There’s an upcoming cleaning drive in collaboration with the Forest Department in Shimla, around Malyana, a place which we had not ventured into earlier. Such small expansions reap great fruit.
You are an inspiration to many and also have become an influencer, with your work that speaks volumes about your credibility. What’s your message for the youth?
To save and preserve the environment, you don’t have to go anywhere. Start right where you are. Small changes make a huge difference. Replacing a plastic bottle with a glass or metal one; switching to cloth bags instead of polythene; refusing cutlery in your food parcels are the first steps. Be conscious of your surroundings and sensitive towards the environment and you’ll instantly start noticing where to cut down the carbon footprints.
And for my fellow trekkers, who’d like to join us or go trekking on their own in the lovely Himalayas, my message is that high music, boombox, and booze is not the only idea of fun in the woods. Create a different swag that aligns with nature.
Where do you see your work in five years down the line?
I would like to continue what I am doing. I am a simple man trying to clean and heal the Himalayas in the simplest way with the help of individuals and organizations that share the passion.
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Website: healinghimalayas.org