Bagman is a campaign by Rewheel to promote use of cloth bags to protect environment
“How much would you pay for this,” asked Sashi Kaja holding out a simple cloth bag with fishes printed on it. The print on the bag apart from fishes has a message that reads ‘plastic free oceans’.

Even at the cost of being judged after examining the double sturdy stitches on the sides and the cloth handles, I said, “not more than ₹100.” Sashi smiled, took the bag from the hand, (at this point I was sure of snide remarks) and said “I am selling them for ₹ 30 and even then I have people who wear expensive shades argue and bargain with me at malls.”

Sashi is the founder of a campaign — Bagman, which is also a part of his business — Rewheel that manufactures handmade cloth bags for everyday use. Rewheel is a social enterprise, which hopes to sensitise society on the usage of plastic bags for the cause of sustainable environment by iterating the fact that making earth safe starts with little changes in everyday lifestyle. In achieving the same, Rewheel manufactures cloth bags which are handy, comfortable, strong and above all ecologically safe. “Right from taking it to gym for a change of clothes and shoes to buying vegetables,” he assures. One can also look hep with his multi-purpose bags with quirky prints. Ideal to carry laptops and other extra essentials that cannot be stuffed into your stylish handbag for fear of making it go out of shape.

Sashi’ journey with bags however began with a trek. He never in his wildest dream thought he will be a ‘jhola-man’ to the extent of making and selling them. “I am a nature lover and love solitude. I am mostly out on treks and visit the wild on my own and that has pretty much made me become familiar with the jungles. Having trained to handle snakes have also taken me deep into the jungle to understand their habitat etc. While on one such trek I was shocked to find plastic bags deep inside the jungle. It was not a picnic spot or a commonly visited area, so the presence of the plastic bag was horrifying,” says Sashi.

While he is against plastic, Sashi agrees that plastic is a good discovery. “It is the way we use and dispose that makes a difference. Finding plastic inside a cow’s stomach is very common these days. The oceans are fast-filling up with plastic. Aquatic birds and animals are eating plastic and we are still not able to find a solution,” says Sashi.

Before starting Bagman, Sashi was into trading, buying from one point to selling at another. He would buy from others and market and sell it to people. So much so that he became a joke at home. “’Your brother works for Microsoft and what do we say you do?’ would be the joke at home,” laughs Sashi.

Earlier Sashi even worked in a startup where he sold chai and samosa. The idea he says is to understand how is it to be out there and sell a product.

Sashi wanted a business plan that would make him realise the dream of doing something for the environment and being able to provide livelihood to a section of people who need it. “We have a few in-house trained bag makers but I also outsource work to people who are trained but have very less work. I saw no point in training and investing in an infrastructure when there is ample available to be used,” says Sashi.

Is it financially viable? “At the moment not quite viable. sometimes we lose money, sometimes we just manage. Apart from this, rejections are a part of our business. The best thing one can do at times like this is to try harder. That is what I would tell those who want to give wings to their dreams,” says Sashi.

Earlier on, Sashi was also a part of the UnLtdHyderabad which is a part of UnLtdindia, an organisation that works to find, support and grow early-stage social entrepreneurs who can build high-impact organisations and grow as catalysts for social change.

“They gave me a grant and that’s how I started Rewheel five years ago. I most recently started the Bagman campaign to promote use of cloth bags. All heroes don’t wear capes, some heroes carry cloth bags because they care for the environment,” says Sashi pointing out to the campaign artwork. The pinboard displays his two most favourite subjects — one is Bagman and the other is Sonali Bendre. “I am a big fan and I was shattered to know that she was fighting cancer,” says he.

For details: www.thebagman.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Environment / by Prabalika M. Borah / Hyderabad – September 03rd, 2018