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Are you a green mom?

Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

REDUCE, RECYCLE Save water and establish a green tradition

When Uma consulted her family physician over a throat infection, he asked, “Do you use pesticides in your garden?” She did. If it affects me so badly, what will it do to the plants and the children, Uma thought. She began to talk about be tter household practices with other moms at family functions. “I found out from elders many of our old habits were eco-friendly,” she said. “We ate from leaves (biodegradable) and threw them into a pit. No water, no toxic detergent for cleaning. We used cow dung, coal ash, burnt chaff and oil cakes as cleaning agents. We took cloth bags for shopping. Why did we give up all this?”

When she moved to a new home in the suburbs, she made green decisions. Rainwater harvesting, source segregation with green waste going into a compost pit, kitchen water diverted to the garden. No stone paths around the house, no pesticides. “Children learnt by watching,” she said. Uma didn’t know it, but she was being part of a world movement of mothers taking the initiative for green habits at home.

They call themselves Ecomoms. Or Enviromoms, Green Moms, or Mindful Mammas. They have alliance websites and spread ideas of how to make homes free of carbon footprints.

“A lot of the sustainable decisions are made simply to save time and costs,” admitted Nimmi another Ecomom. “Water recycling is part of the budget. Before I bought the machine, I used the water after final rinsing of clothes to swab floors. With a small child, I need to plan my shopping trips carefully.” Her family always sprinkled haldi powder to keep ants away, her mom burnt neem leaves to smoke mosquitoes out. Now she checks toys for lead content. “What would you do if you had toddlers?”

“Glad you asked,” said Kamla Ravikumar.An ecomom by choice, “I stock up for a whole week, buy produce grown by our farmers. No imported, unseasonal fruits for us. I save plastic bags my flower-seller gives me and return them for reuse. I taught her how to make paper bags but she says she doesn’t have time!”

Kamla’s bulbs are CFLs, her washing machine is used every third day. Her summer guests have to do without geysers and are persuaded to breathe fresh air — avoid-AC-ing as much as possible, please! In her camps children learn to make note-pads from old school books and recycle greeting cards.

Vasanthi Rajiv converts duppattas into cloth covers of various sizes. “I carry them in my handbag, car etc to avoid plastic bags,” she said. “I lecture my friends too, they avoid me instead!”

Paris (the city) has made bicycle-riding chic, you could make eco-mothering a fashion statement. Have an ecomom pageant in the next club meet. Get the children to form neighbourhood eco-clubs. Meantime start greening your home.

Cut down garbage. Less junk around the house means less time for you to clean up. Buy products with minimum packaging. Buy local and organic. You reduce fossil fuel waste from items shipped from far away, reduce pesticides in your body and your ground water. Walk to your grocer’s. You’ll save petrol, CO2 from the atmosphere and shrink a couple of inches from your waist.

Turn off your TV, DVD player, and computer to keep out Co2. Unplug chargers, etc., to dramatically reduce your family’s exposure to electro-magnetic radiation. Have a candle-light dinner once a week. Children will love it.

Get the children to carpool, walk or ride bikes. Use cold or warm water instead of hot in your washing machine. Do less laundry, it means less folding! Plant a tree. Why not one on children’s birthdays? They can watch the tree grow as they do. Keep your car tyres properly inflated. It improves mileage. Take children out to explore local history on holidays. Prepare organic skin and hair-care products at home for you and children. You know what goes into them! Added together, our small actions will make a huge difference. The idea is to “leverage the power of mothers to help reduce global warming”. Mothers “can help create a sustainable future.” It is for the children.

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