Support in financial linkages for the adoption of sustainable green technologies and accelerate financial inclusion within leather clusters

Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre (SREC) is a charitable Trust established in December 2008 to create solutions for sustainable development through cooperation and partnership between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), government, and businesses. SREC employs value chain approach from producer to the consumer helping to integrate sustainable practices in agricultural farms and factories.

Through the support of the European Union, Solidaridad and its partners- Politecnico Internazionale per lo Sviluppo Industriale ed Economico(PISIE), Council for Leather Exports, Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association and Tata International are together implementing a 3.5-year project on developing sustainable solutions and promoting circular technologies for effective solid waste management in four clusters of Tamil Nadu – Ambur, Chennai, Ranipet, and Vaniyambadi.

The project aims to promote circular market-based models by establishing pilot demonstrations on circular practices. The project will also contribute towards enhancing resource efficiency and reducing water consumption in 100 tanneries. Samavit was empaneled to develop a need-based training program for supporting financial linkages for the adoption of relevant green technologies by tannery unit owner

The objective of the project was:

• To assess current knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) of tanneries in Chennai, Ambur, Ranipeth, and Vaniyamvadi on solid waste management.
• To provide information to tannery owners on relevant technologies and financial products relevant for promoting circularity in leather clusters.

Samavit followed a step-by-step methodical approach to meet the objective by adhering to a well-laid down process to accomplish the desired output within the given timeline-

After the inception meeting, the first step was to understand the training needs of tannery unit owners. Samavit prepared a semi-structured questionnaire for training needs assessment using convenience sampling. Based on the findings of TNA, a workshop module on the promotion of circularity in leather clusters was designed. The 4-day workshop was conducted based on Ambur, Pallavaram, Ranipet, and Vaniyambadi using the developed module.

The phase-wise project execution plan is mentioned below: –

• An inception meeting was conducted to understand the scope of work and client expectations better.
• The training needs assessment (TNA) was conducted to identify the training needs of the tannery unit owners regarding the adoption of relevant green technologies in leather clusters.
• A training module was then prepared based on the findings of TNA to train the tannery unit owners on circularity, relevant technology, and relevant financial schemes for the adoption of green technologies in the identified leather clusters.

Samavit’s team conducted a comprehensive 4-day training in the 4 districts- Ambur, Pallavaram, Ranipet, and Vaniyambadi of Tamil Nadu. Participatory activities like- case studies, group exercises, games, and audio-visual tools were used to enhance participants’ learning experience. Subsequent feedback from participants provided valuable insights into future initiatives. Representatives from SIDBI were also present at each location to explain to the participants about relevant schemes of SIDBI. Finally, a workshop report was prepared based on pre and post-training assessment along with closure report.