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<\/p>\nPoonam Bir Kasturi founded Daily Dump in India which creates handcrafted composting containers. Work Better talked with Poonam about her notion that design and business can be forces for good.<\/p>\n
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WB:<\/strong> Tell us about the journey that led you to start Daily Dump (dailydump.org).<\/p>\n PK:<\/strong> As an industrial design student in India, we talked about how design could change the world, and what it could mean to each of us. That stuck with me, and after I finished school I wanted to answer that question for myself \u2013 how can design intersect with the real world? It was during this internal inquiry and my exposure to the small-scale, industry crafts and batch production in India that all of my learnings came together into this clear vision of a need. There may not have been a demand, but I knew there was a need. That\u2019s when I started to prototype the first home composter in the country \u2013 made by craftspeople, not in a factory.<\/p>\n WB: Why focus on food waste, as opposed to plastics or electronics?<\/strong><\/p>\n PK:<\/strong> Food waste is 60% of our waste stream. I knew food waste can become circular much more easily than plastic. People can also see the circularity of food waste happening tangibly in their homes \u2013 they can witness what it means to \u2018close the loop,\u2019 and be connected to the earth. Food waste is also about 70% water. Taxpayers shouldn\u2019t have to pay to truck what\u2019s essentially water to a landfill, which creates methane.<\/p>\n WB: What impact has your business made in your country? <\/strong><\/p>\n PK:<\/strong> We have opened the doors \u2013 created the pathway and designed a movement \u2013 to legitimize the idea of decentralized waste management. Because we took a business risk that opened up these conversations, we now find people following us through those doors, and we\u2019ve seen that circularity has become the norm for them. That\u2019s our contribution and impact.<\/p>\n WB: Why did you decide to use handmade pottery from craftspeople instead of more efficient and functional manufacturing? <\/strong><\/p>\n PK:<\/strong> There is a sentiment in India that if you\u2019re educated or have money, someone else should handle your waste. Dignity of labor is a big issue and I come from a family where we believe there\u2019s nothing wrong with doing your own work. For us, supporting craftspeople who work with their hands is a priority. Secondly, it\u2019s about changing minds. If we\u2019re just building another dustbin, it\u2019ll just be another dustbin in your mind and you\u2019ll just treat it like one. We wanted to change people\u2019s minds and behaviors, so we needed to create a new space in people\u2019s minds that speaks to regeneration \u2013 a new energy. This is a new space and so we had to give it a form and material linked to a deep and meaningful archetype in India \u2013 clay and pottery have that significant resonance in India.<\/p>\n