What happens when the son of a Kirtankar puts his moral values to practice on ground to improve his community?
This is Baswaling Kalwane’s story. A primary school teacher at the CPS branch (Mukhed taluka) in Maharashtra’s Nanded district who is changing the face of his community.
What he Discovered
As long as Mr Kalwane (42 years old) could remember, open defecation was a problem in his school’s community. In fact, Mukhed was infamous for its low hygiene and cleanliness standards.
Students had to walk on soiled streets and open dumping grounds on their way to class. But no one seemed to be bothered with it.
But all of this was about to change.
Seeds of Change
With a legacy of the ‘kirtankar’ tradition (spiritual folk performances), Baswaling Kalwane was always on the lookout for ways to make a positive change in the world and walking the talk. And he was about to stumble on a blueprint that would help him amplify his impact.
In Reap Benefit’s weekly mentoring, Mr Kalwane learnt about the holistic problem solving methodology of DISS.
Discover → Investigate → Solve → Share
He realized this was a mantra for change – not just for big problems out there but also for his own life. Mr Kalwane started applying this formula to solve problems everyday and soon realized that he’s not too far from whipping his school’s surroundings in shape, too.
First Steps
He recognized the source of the problem:
The lack of and an uneven distribution of household toilets in the neighbourhood. Enough people didn’t have access to a hygienic toilet.
Mukhed’s few public toilets were barely functioning – without water or electricity.
But despite being on the city’s outskirts, Mr Kalwane knew that the Mukhed still fell under the Nanded Municipal Corporation’s jurisdiction.
And so he set off on his problem solving adventure.
Leading with Action
Step 1: DIY
Without deliberating more, he knew that if wanted to start a ground swell, he must begin with himself.
He led his students in cleaning the school yard and closest surroundings themselves every Saturday.
Most importantly, he was willing to get his hands dirty and got down to sweeping the grounds with his students.
But soon, Mr Kalwane and his fellow teachers realized that there were some messes they could not clean themselves. The open dumps and human waste would require professional help.
Which is when they moved on to —
Step 2: Get Help from Authorities
Along with his students, he went with a formal request to the municipal staff about assistance to clean up the neighbourhood.
Impressed by the participation of students, the municipal staff sent clean up vehicles on a weekly basis to clean up all accumulated garbage.
Additionally, he took note of a blackspot made up of construction debris and heavy waste. He requested the school principal to dip into the school’s discretionary funds to call in a JCB tractor and clean up the spot.
Soon, the toughest spots were all scrubbed clean and the worst was over.
Despite a lack of any direct involvement of the residents, he noted that the level of garbage accumulation and open defecation had come down by nearly 50% (by his estimation.)
The logic worked:
If a place is dirty, people are tempted to keep dumping waste there
If the same place is cleaned up, people are hesitant to dirty it up and strive to keep it clean
It was now time for —
Step 3: Involve the Community
Mr Kalwane was eager to scale the success and ensure Mukhed’s newfound spick-and-span status sustains over the long run.
Which is why he approached the principal of an adjacent English medium private school – St. Mary Convent English School, Mukhed.
His pitch was simple:
A clean neighbourhood is a source of pride for both our schools. So why not join hands in keeping it so?
Additionally, he figured that more parents would want to enroll their children in St. Mary’s if the neighbourhood was cleaner.
Mr Vantekar from St. Mary’s school agreed to participate (along with his students) in the local clean up drives on a weekly basis.
Today, there’s a healthy competition between the St. Mary’s and CPS Branch, Mukhed. With students of each school taking ownership for cleaning up one side of the street on Saturdays.
Before Cleanup
After Cleanup
Collaboration for Sustainable Change 
Mr Baswaling Kalwane’s campaign teaches us how leadership doesn’t always involve forging the path alone.
While he took the lead every step of the way, he also knew when and whom to ask for help.
Today, thanks to his efforts, Mukhed sees many more students and community members are invested in its future.
And that’s where change begins.
