Entrepreneur Success Story: Joining Hands for a Greener Environment

by Sweetu
(Kolkata,India)

My father is a true entrepreneur success story. He retired as a mechanical engineer and was always on the look-out for a freelancing job to get rid of the boredom.

We daughters then suggested he become an entrepreneur, along with few of his retiree friends. At first, he was a little hesitant to start. But once he was convinced that he could invest sufficient time to make a difference in the environment, he was ready.

It was a great feeling for him when he decided to start a “green movement “in our society. My father and his friends pooled their money and started an organization. They hired a few laborers to work for them monthly pay.

The main idea was to convince the people of our society to protect the environment and make them aware of global warming. Banners and pamphlets were distributed and the aftereffects of carbon emission were told to each person. People were advised to go to their offices in car pools to reduce the burning of fuels. Trees were prevented from cutting down. The roads that lined our street were cleaned and pits were dug at an intervals of 200 meters to plant trees.

They were ready to face the challenges and always came up with a solution. An area of barren land in our society was converted into a garden where people, both young and old started coming for their morning and evening walks. As they all had the experience and age on their side, everything was tackled in an amicable way. They constantly nudged and pushed people to adopt a healthy way.

Finally, after four years, our street and society is a green and lively place. One gets to breathe fresh air and everyone in our society is motivated in his/her own way to help the green movement develop further and spread to other localities.

It is a now self-help group, but is well managed because of everybody’s contribution. It just goes to show that if one has the passion and zeal of an entrepreneur, then one can start from scratch and be successful.