Gul Bahao

Into the 21st century with new ideas from Gul Bahao

Gul Bahao’s Fuel Pack

In a press statement Gul Bahao has said that the “Fuel Pack” that it has made from waste material could help to solve the acute problem of electricity, the city is facing. According to Gul Bahao it is an environmentally friendly alternate fuel, a good substitute for oil; because it does not give out any toxic fumes, at the same time is cheap and easily available. It can be easily used as fuel for thermal power stations.

Giving the back ground of the “Fuel Pack” Gul Bahao has said that in 2006 it was collecting different kinds of industrial waste during the months of February to April from 80 factories of the EPZA by means of 8 trucks on daily basis and it has been conducting experiments on them ever since. Techniques used were those that have been developed by Gul Bahao for making its famous “Wastic Blocks”. The “Fuel Pack” is a block weighing ten to twelve kilo of size 6 inches by 17 inches by 21 inches. It consists of clean non toxic industrial waste like bits of wood, paper, cloth etc. which are not mixed up with putrefying waste. A protective covering of aluminum foil which is fire resistant is put on the blocks which also give it an aesthetic look.

The blocks have been used as fuel in different places which gave extremely good results. One well known industrial company even volunteered to market it. Considering the grave power situation, Gul Bahao has asked the Government to consider its “Fuel Pack” as fuel for thermal power stations. The advantage of this alternative fuel is its easy availability as well as its low cost.

Here it may be mentioned that Gul Bahao has been experimenting with waste material for the last thirteen years and so far has spent 4 crore of rupees. It has had as many as 80 people working in a single day. It has also succeeded in establishing Pakistan’s first Research Center for waste management.

Relief camp for flood affectees located in Razzakabad

The last days of the holy month of Ramazan were spent in unique way by the Gul Bahao team. Away from their homes, they spent two nights and days in the Relief camp for flood affectees located in Razzakabad  (presently  housing seven thousand refugees) situated in the suburbs of Karachi. The purpose was to demonstrate the different techniques and skills developed by Gul Bahao for disaster management.

What is more, two prefabricated structures of size 15×30 were put  up with the help of the camp inmates. One is meant to serve as conference room (as suggested by the administration) and the other to serve as waiting room for the patients of a mobile Hospital put up by the UAE government.

The representative of the UAE government in Pakistan Dr. Adil has offered to buy more prefabricated structures called Chandi Ghar from Gul Bahao. The putting up of the prefabricated structures was a good example of cooperation between the NGO and flood affectees. The first 15x 30 Chandi Ghar was built at a very prominent place in the camp. Many of the refugees chipped in with their labor, quickly learning the new techniques  involved in putting up the structures The work was done throughout the night under the glare of the street lights. Till the time of Sehri. This was so because many were fasting and also to meet the deadline of Eid.

While hundreds of people crowded around to see the glittering “Chandi Ghar” others listened with interest to talks accompanied by photographs by Head of Gul Bahao, Nargis Latif.  Using the language of the affectees of Sindh Nargis dwelt  on the use of mobile toilets (as designed by Gul Bahao) on the need for recycling rural waste, water purification method called Paaki Pani  and other innovations of the organization.

Solutions to environmental problems – lecture at Goethe institute

Yesterday, Gul Bahao’s Nargis Latif was invited to address a gathering of students at the Goethe Institute. The event was organized by the Children’s museum for Peace and Human Rights to high light the causes behind natural disasters especially in the current situation prevailing in the country.

Nargis Latif in her detailed speech said that Gul Bahao during its 16 years of existence has been giving solutions to seemingly intractable environmental problems. It has invariably linked the environment with economy. It has never indulged in breast beating about pollution levels about the destruction of the planet. It has always shown how we can have development and industry side by side with a clean environment. For instance dry recyclable waste may be collected in bins in such an organized manner that nothing remains to pollute and instead the industry and agriculture would gain through easy and cheap access to raw material.

She said that if we use paper bags instead of shopping bags we will be encouraging deforestation which will lead to large scale flooding. Nargis dwelt on a variety of topics ranging from factory effluents, to use of organic waste as fodder to the use of plastic waste in the use of building blocks (remember Chandi Ghar) is an innovation of Gul Bahao. She said that a sensible waste management system including recycling would go a long way in controlling desertification, deforestation and pollution of natural resources.

There was an intense interaction between the head of Gul Bahao and the participants of the seminar. Students wanted to know how they could help Gul Bahao. Citing the example of Al Noor School in Gul- shan e Iqbal, she said they asked their students to collect recyclable garbage from their friends, relations, neighbors on one particular day. After separation and weighing, it value was calculated at a little over nine thousand rupees. This was a donation from the school to the NGO (Gul Bahao). Nargis revealed that some other educational institutions including few universities have started donating their recyclable garbage to Gul Bahao. Referring to the devastation caused by the floods, Nargis suggested plan of action. According to her more than Rs 3 crore worth of waste is being thrown into the dumps of Karachi every day.

Even if a fraction of this is collected in an organized manner it could help in the relief and rehabilitation of the flood affectees. Nargis said that Gul Bahao during its 16 years of existence has gained ample expertise in this matter and has sold more than eight crores rupees worth of garbage so far.

In the meantime Nargis has appealed to all institutions banks, factories and others and even NGOs to use their recyclable waste for raising funds for the national calamity taking place in the country. Gul Bahao will send its transport and staff to collect the recyclable garbage.

Culture and Tourism Department Sindh sponsors Gul Bahao’s Busti Benazir exhibition

“BUSTI Benazir” a unique exhibition was held for two days at the Gul Bahao Complex located in Gulshan-e- Iqbal on Sunday and Monday. PPP’s General Secretary for Sindh, Mr. Taj Haider was the Chief Guest at the event which was sponsored by the Culture and Tourism Department Sindh.

The exhibition was a combination of the scientific and the cultural. The open air exhibition presented a lively scene of bright colors and popular songs of the Peoples Party especially very moving songs about Benazir Bhutto

From time to time people were exhorted on the sound system to study the different innovations of Gul Bahao. (One of the speakers later on commented that it was sheer laziness on the part of the people that they have not responded as well as they should have to Gul Bhao’s innovations). On the other hand several instances were given of people having used the Paaki Paani and recovered from illnesses. Others are regularly using this technique as a water purifying method

The centre of attraction however was the Chandi Ghar a prefabricated house which lived upto its name every bit . Its spectacular beauty elicited a remark from a visitor Why! it is fit for the king …may be king Abdullah of Saudi Arabia .

Another major aspect of the exhibition was the Safai/Kamai Bank which according to Nargis Latif, (head, of the organization ) ‘‘is a modern day up gradation of the Kabaria where the instrument of banking is dry garbage’’.

The Chief Guest was taken around the exhibition. Deeply impressed with all that he saw he remarked that instead of looking to the government for jobs all the time people can earn their living through the different schemes devised by Gul Bahao.

A Government Official who had come to see the exhibition said that his Department is seriously looking in to adopting the model of the Chandi Ghar for the low income groups.

A delegation of the Agha Khan Community Development Department evinced keen interest in the prefabricated system and said they intend to have their workers trained in this new technology.

In the public meeting that was held later on, it was announced that A Busti Benazir exhibition cum seminar would be held twice a year on the occasions of the birth and death anniversaries of l the late Prime Minister Benazir.