Urban Rural model for Sustainable Development

An urban-rural economic model, which helps to improve the quality of life of rural populace in their native surroundings and provides an environment friendly growth opportunity, is developed. For countries like India, which has more than 60% of its population in rural India, this sustainable development model presents an opportunity to carry out a balanced growth with minimal societal upheaval. Recycling of used textiles and clothing of the urban households has been used to create value added and contemperory products. In this model the used worn out clothing reaches the rural households, is converted into value added products which are delivered back to the same urban households. Systems approach has been further suggested to roll out a sustainable development initiative where in all the players – policy makers, academia, and industry, need to work in a concerted coordinated manner to complement each other’s effort.

This is a dying sector and the weavers have moved to alternate professions due to non remunerative vocation. The model addresses the issue and receommends intervention mechanisms to make it a sustainable system.