Initiatives,2022 – 2024.

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

PRIMAA marked the fifth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste with State Bank of India and ACCW students, aiming to sensitise Chennai citizens to food wastage in urban areas.

• In preparation, PRIMAA organised a field visit to Koyambedu, Chennai’s largest wholesale market. Students accompanied by Mrs. Mahalakshmi Vaddadi and Mr. Varun Aiyer were immersed in waste management, food waste and the lives of the market’s vendors.
• Two awareness programmes followed at ACCW: the Museum of Waste (MoWA), a visual journey of waste artefacts, and the Festival of Waste (FoWA), a performance titled “Our Hunger Games – Feast or Famine”.

World Autism Day

Students of the ACCW Department of English dedicated their time and skills to a day of engagement with the children of Sankalp, a special-needs school, on World Autism Day.

Sustainability Project 2023

After two successful events with ACCW and Spandhan, the growing group of volunteers took on grassroots sustainable living tips in and around Anna Nagar through the year.

World Environment Day 2022

A micro-engagement for climate action in Anna Nagar with Spandhan, an occupational therapy centre for children with special needs. Its goal: make a small part of Chennai clean and green, and build local awareness of urban climate action.

• Two themes led the day: “Paint the wall green, make the street clean” and “Know your street, to keep it neat”.
• Volunteers and students planted trees at the centre, painted walls with environment-friendly messages, staged a puppet show on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and heard a motivational talk by PRIMAA for parents and residents.
• The Municipal Corporation was involved to collect garbage after the clean-up, closing the loop between citizens and civic services.

Earth Day 2022 · Guardians of Gaia Festival

A four-day festival created with ACCW to raise awareness of water and plastic issues in Chennai, opened by an Earth Day rally beside the river Cooum and closed with a valedictory on campus.

• The rally on 19 April was flagged off by Anna Nagar Municipal Councillor Mrs. J. Pushpalatha with officials from Chennai Municipal Corporation and CMWSSB. More than 150 students, faculty and well-wishers marched with slogans and songs on water conservation in many languages.
• Inter-collegiate and inter-department competitions on Climate Action themes ran through the week: poetry slams, visual arts, slogan writing, short film, Instagram reels and photography.
• “Tales of Water Pakkam”, a contextual play devised and performed by student volunteers and PRIMAA under the direction of Mr. Varun Aiyer, was the festival highlight and later travelled to Anna Tower Park for the general public.
• The Grand Finale on 22 April welcomed Mr. Krishna Mohan Ramachandran, Chief Resilience Officer, Resilient Cities Network, as Chief Guest. The festival was covered by Anna Nagar Times and DT Next.

Memorandum of Understanding with Anna Adarsh College for Women

A three-year MoU signed with ACCW, an institution managed by the Punjab Association and steeped in philanthropy and social service. It set the foundation for PRIMAA’s youth-led climate and community programmes in Chennai.