A Voice For the Voiceless
The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.
- Africa
- Asia
- Afghan Women's Network
- The Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization
- eHomemakers
- Home for Human Rights
- Jagaran Media Center
- Oruj Learning Center
- Association for Empowerment of People with Disabilities
- Backward Society Education (BASE)
- Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group
- Women's Reproductive Rights Program (WRRP)
- Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Middle East
- North America
- Outreach Partners
- Criteria for Partners
The Impact of Service
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Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group
Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group
Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group
Issue: Recycling and Wastepickers Rights
Region: Asia
Location: Delhi, India
Mission
Chintan’s mission is to facilitate the participation of citizens in the empowerment of their communities and to advocate for local and national policies that ensure social equity and environmental safeguarding.
Telling The Story
Photographs:
Take a look at Peace Fellow Clara Kollm's Flickr photos

Videos:
Watch AP's playlist on Chintan.
Peace Fellow Blogs:
2011 - Clara Kollm (University of Maryland)
2009 - Ted Mathys (Tufts University) and Jacqui Kotyk (University of British Columbia)
2008 - Mackenzie Berg (University of Denver) and Paul Colombini (American University)
Quilting and Other Projects:
The panels for this quilt were painted onto cloth by children of wastepickers in New Delhi, and assembled by quilters in Rhode Island, under the leadership of Allison Wilbur. The project was initiated by 2011 Peace Fellow Clara Kollm in the summer of 2011, while she was volunteering at the Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group in New Delhi. Chintan represents
wastepickers and runs a program specifically for children - No Child in Trash. Clara met with some children in the program. They then picked out recycled fabric and used fabric markers to depict scenes from their daily lives. Their goal was to remind the world that by protecting the enviroment we also protect the next generation.
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| The Chintan Quilt. |
Media Coverage:
August 7, 2008
The Wastepickers of Delhi
Institute for Policy Studies
July 2008
The Wastepickers of Delhi
Mother Jones
January 2008
Why Waste a Chance? (by Bharati Chaturvedi, Director of Chintan)
Down to Earth
November 15, 2007
India's Ragpickers: Scavenger Hunt
The Economist
September 27, 2007
Picking Up Trash by Hand, and Yearning for Dignity
The New York Times
For more, visit Chintan's website.
Chintan's Work
Campaigns:
- Provides the kabari (junk dealers) with recycling licenses.
- Halts the capital intensive privatization of municipal solid waste.
- Protects the informal waste recycling sector by amending the Municipal Solid Waste Rules.
- Provides informal and formal education opportunities for children that enable them to successfully transition from child laborers to full time students who have equal opportunities in life. Chintan runs four learning centers in Delhi, reaching out to about 300 children associated with waste picking. Many of the children have joined mainstream schools in the last two years.
- Chintan recently signed a new contract with New Delhi Municipal Council for waste collection in over 50,000 households which will be operated by a collective of local wastepickers.
Donate to Chintan
Support Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group:
You must insert a dollar amount to donate.
Contact Chintan
Visit the Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group's website
Mailing Address:
238 Sidhartha Enclave
New Delhi - 110014
Tel:+91-11-46574171, 46574172, 46574173
Fax:+91-11-46574174 Back

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