‘If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way’ — This quote from Napoleon Hill motivates Lakshmi to carry on with her social commitment. Lakshmi Menon is a religious person who does not rely on her ability but only on her availability. She is a happy-go-lucky individual who takes pleasure in the simplicities of life. “I can eat with my hands, walk on my feet, see with my eyes, listen with my ears and can communicate. I realise the value of these blessingswhen I see many challenged souls in the world struggling in life,” says this compassionate soul.
“My family has a strong affinity towards social commitment. My father always emphasised on the importance of hard work, helping others and taking responsibility for one’s actions, the need to be accountable and to live responsibly. It was during my stay in the US that I realised the joy of volunteering in hospitals and conducting craft workshops for cancer patients. I learnt the therapeutic value of art and the satisfaction that comes with organising meals for the homeless. These experiences lead me to take up activities that had relevance to social causes. Earning makes a living, while giving makes a life,” she says with commitment.
Lakshmi is currently involved in several projects. She quotes Napoleon Hill, ‘If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way’. “This is what we practice in Pure Living. It is a company started to promote eco-friendly products mainly through upcycling and recycling of materials. Pure products are ‘upcycled, recycled and economised’. Pure Living was born out of the urgent necessity to curb the plastic garbage surrounding us, especially in India,” she explains.
Her latest project is the Rolapena, a pen made of paper from old magazines, newspapers etc. “We want to make a social impact with the Rolapena. The number of pens used is proportionate to the population of a country or even more and the quantity that we dispose is so massive, it is difficult to imagine,” says this environmentalist.
Besides, Lakshmi emphasises that human civilisation has travelled through different ages like Ice Age, Stone Age, Bronze Age to finally reach “Garb-Age”, especially plastic garbage. “This is a small step to minimise new plastic products from being made. Through Rolapena, you are actually upcycling, that is, extending the life of paper, which was already made (upcycling-repurposing), replacing an environmentally hazardous product (plastic) and generating a livelihood to our friends who had very unfortunate twists in their lives and all these without compromising on the functionality of a pen. What more do you want from a product,” she asks.
There are several people involved in the Rolapena project. It is mainly designed to give employment and thus offer a new lease of life to a set of paraplegics, most of them who are capable of doing work normally with their hands. “The whole perspective of my life changed after meeting these enthusiastic vibrant youngsters who refused to surrender their mind to the worst tragedies of their life which paralysed them physically. They still face life with so much hope and expectation. I could sense their pride in earning on their own rather than depend on charity. It was this association that made me realise the value of being able to walk on my own and being even able to hold a glass of water, things in life which we take for granted,” Lakshmi explains.
A machine has been developed to roll the pens in order to scale up production. Marketing support is what Lakshmi currently requires. She has orders from schools, colleges, offices and hotels, etc.
As a jewellery designer, Lakshmi has worked with some renowned designers in the US and even displayed her creations at the New York Fashion Week. As part of reviving and popularising ‘hay art’, a dying artform in Kerala, it was used on the cover pages of 10,000 copies of a Malayalam novel called Pravasam by M Mukundan.Lakshmi has worked on several projects in the past. She was the chief craft consultant for setting up an art and craft village near Calicut called Sargaalaya for the Kerala Government. She was also the product development consultant for Kudumbasree for developing souvenirs specific to Kerala for the Government of Kerala.
She also participated in the Water Bulb Project in Bhopal, getting 50-watt equivalent of light through a PET water bottle filled with water. “We were instrumental in introducing and installing water bulbs in the slums of Bhopal. We were inspired by a technique, which is widely implemented in the slums of Brazil and Indonesia,” she informs.
