Renewable Energy And India's Small Businesses

A poster for a workshop on using renewable energy.

Sometimes it takes just a bit extra, besides technical background, to enable a project to be adopted and spread. Take for instance the technical skill that Poornima B Joshi has already attained while working in the family business at Green Thumb, a waste management business located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Besides her experience, Poornima has an M.S. degree in Environment and Development, which she completed in the UK.

Green Thumb's client list includes such small enterprises as canteen owners, orphanages, catering companies, charity hospitals, rural schools, etc. These are small businesses with owners and employees who lack technical skills, but have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. When Poornima was developing her idea of converting biomass to biogas and gasifier types of fuels, she ran into the problem of banks being unwilling to finance these changes with the small-time client base with which Green Thumb was working.



When she thought about this issue more deeply, she came up with the idea of developing THINC, a social enterprise, which would back her basic concept of renewable energy. Basically, Thinc takes on the financial risks and provides the technical support to the small business owners, who are willing to adopt the technologies that enable the biomass conversion. Then, the monetary savings that result are funneled back to Thinc to pay back the costs of providing the services.

Some of the advantages of utilizing biomass technologies include reducing the stench generated by collected garbage, having cleaner air by decreasing methane emissions, preventing the spread of illnesses, saving money on electricity charges, and decreasing use of nonrenewable energy. Thinc lists the small businesses which desire the biomass conversion technology and offers investors investment plans so they can provide the monetary support to those enterprises and also receive a modest return. Thinc also continues to recruit those small businesses which have an interest in adding the technology.

The entrance to Thinc's office.

Thinc does partner with Green Thumb, where Poornima gained much of her experience in renewable energy. In turn, Green Thumb continues to develop new technologies and has added biofertilizers to their product mix.

Poornima has always had the support of family and friends.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/poornima-joshi-thinc/; and the above link.

Click here to view more details

Click here: 30 SUPER HEALTHY KIDS ICE CREAM TREATS