Meet Janak Palta McGilligan, an Indore native who has revolutionised India’s approach to sustainability and energy saving. This social activist is a Padma Shri awardee and has received countless accolades for her ground-breaking work.
What is more intriguing is the astonishing Janak’s residence, which has an electrical cost of ZERO rupees. She made sure that her home met all of her wants when she was designing it. She has a home windmill that generates power, chickens that supply dairy products, a farm that produces vegetables, rice, herbs, jams, spices, and even detergents, soaps, shampoo, and toothpaste!
Janak Palta McGilligan underwent open heart surgery at the age of 17 after having a near-death experience as a teen. She made the decision to devote her life to mother earth’s welfare after learning a new appreciation for life.
She first became aware of the environmental issues occurring all around the world in 1992 when she got an invitation to the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
She moved into her husband Jimmy McGilligan’s house in Sanawadia hamlet near Indore in 2011, following his passing. The 74-year-old made her house fully sustainable by remodelling it.
No electricity bill is produced in the zero-waste household. The house, along with 50 other nearby homes, is powered by a windmill. In her garden, which has 160 trees and 13 crops, she also plants organic vegetables, lentils, grains, and spices. The food is prepared in solar cookers. In the absence of sunlight, she also turns old newspapers into bricks and uses them to power the kitchen.
She received the Padma Shri award in 2015 in recognition of her charitable contributions. Janak is a fervent supporter of sustainability and the founder and head of the Indore-based NGO Jimmy McGilligan Centre For Sustainable Development. Up to this point, the organisation has provided training in sustainable development to almost 40,000 students.
She also served as the previous director of the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in Indore and as the co-founder of Jaivik Setu. She is also the national coordinator for the Solar Food Processing Network India. She trained more than 6,000 tribal women in 500 Indian villages in the use of solar cooking and food processing through her efforts. Through their efforts, 500 SK 14 solar cookers have also been installed in other areas.
