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Sustainability & Social Entrepreneurship - A Conversation with Lakshmi Menon
Hello everyone. In today's edition of the Voices Carry series, we have with us social and entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon, the founder of Pure Living. A designer by profession, Lakshmi's venture, Pure Living is based out of Kochi and is dedicated to finding sustainable livelihood solutions and creating awareness about the importance of green living, engaging and empowering. The underprivileged is the primary focus of her organization, right from the famed chef dolls to the more recent Shia and Kobe project
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 1:20
In fact, a minor intervention from my side in bringing a facility which was much needed in that hospital completely changed my outlook about life and my role in the society. So actually, that small victory gave me a high which still lingers on. That literally gives me the push even now to get involved social issues and to bring in creative solutions with higher impact
Thank you for that, Lakshmi. I'm sure that the early days of pure living wouldn't have been all that easy. So what were as you were setting things up and setting up your team, bringing people together and all of that. So what were some of your early struggles and how did you manage to get takers for your initiatives and how are you able to make a larger impact
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 1:05
Apparently the struggles were comparatively less since whatever we introduced every time was a solution, not just an idea or a product, and people could instantly relate and felt the need for us using it or actually associating with it. And every initiative that we put forth had a standard operating procedure which enabled anyone and anywhere in the world to replicate it or even improvise it based on their context for the larger impact of our social innovations
Absolutely agree with that Todd Lakshmi So my next question is this. The Coven 19 outbreak appears to have brought governments, NGOs and charitable foundations together like never before for so many social initiatives. So what will it take to make such collaboration the norm in the social development sphere
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 1:16
I firmly believe that the political will is all it takes, you know, hope this teamwork continues further for the common good. There are gazillion social issues which can be sorted out smoothly with such collaborations on a regular basis. In a country with such a huge population and weak infrastructure there could be breakdowns happening in the system on a regular basis. This also demands breakthrough decision making and actions which has to be followed
Two of your projects, Shaya and COVID have been selected by the UN in their list of best practices around the world during the Pandemic. Also, Chetti dolls were array of hope for, you know, thousands of people affected by the careless floods. So you've had initiatives that have taken off very well. And there have also been other ideas that have seen lesser success. So could you talk a little bit about the role of innovation in the field of social good?
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 2:02
So I knew it was not very easy to go forward with it. However, through awareness campaigns in colleges, schools, we could still put the word out and also with the help of media, they had been very helpful in promoting every initiative of ours because what we have been suggesting was literally useful for every single person in this country
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 1:27
Remya. I've been blessed with so many good moments. That is very tough for me to summarize in an interview. And I also take a deliberate attempt to create my own happiness and good moments even in the face of adversity. Instead of waiting for somebody to make me happy to deliver the happiness and the goals, the priorities that I've set in my life, it also creates innumerable good moments really fortunate to have this life
So wonderful to hear that, Lakshmi. And I think I should probably borrow your thought of, you know, gratitude as an attitude in my life as well. So thank you for sharing that beautiful thought here. Moving on. At the heart of a lot of social entrepreneurial challenges is this question of finding the right business model. The initiatives need to try and generate some kind of revenue and see what they can do to scale up and all of that. Right
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 1:39
That exactly is what we had been replicating in every initiative of ours and based on the current situation and the requirement, we change the raw materials, the way we do it and things like that. Otherwise, the underlying concept of every single project is upcycling, recycling and frugal. How we tailor make it for every project makes it interesting and diverse and successful
If I may ask Lakshmi, how have you been shaped by the experiences of your youth? Are there people who have inspired you? Also, in the interest of time, let me also club my my next question along with this since I know I've taken too much of your time. So the last question that I have for you is this. What would be your advice for Gen Z the young lot? Rallying around and social causes and joining voluntary organizations
Lakshmi Menon
@Lakshmimenon · 4:02
These are all that came along as part of the Ovarian lottery that they won. My family, especially my dad, has been the greatest inspiration of the lot he inculcated in me the orientation or the thought of do your bit in every possible way instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you or do it for the society
