The Steel Utensils Bank Initiative

What’s the idea behind Green Karma 360's Steel Utensils Bank Initiative?

This is an initiative to reduce the use of disposables at get-togethers.

You can borrow steel plates, cutlery and glasses from Green Karma 360 and stop disposable waste going into landfills.

Why?

For the love of health - ours and the planet's. Plastic and paper utensils leach harmful chemicals in our food. After being trashed, these disposables take up valuable landfill space or litter our land and oceans. 

You can read more on the 'Why" in my blog post: 
https://www.greenkarma360.com/2019/08/ab-tak-chappan-56-and-counting.html

What can be borrowed?

Currently, there are 20 steel sectional plates, 20 spoons, and 20 glasses. I plan to keep building on the inventory.

How does it work?

•  Write to greenkarma360@gmail.com to check availability.
•    Make a nominal refundable deposit and pick up the utensils.
•  After use, clean the utensils. They are dishwasher safe.
•   Return clean and undamaged utensils and get your deposit fully refunded.

How long can I borrow the utensils for?

You can keep them for maximum 3 days. Pick them a day in advance. Return the next day of the event. If the demand is high, expect a 2-day cycle.

What is the rental fee?

There is NO rental fee. However, a refundable deposit is charged which is returned when the dishes are returned. Also, if you want to give a token donation, that is welcome and would be used to buy more plates and cutlery. 

What if I lose or damage an item?

The replacement cost for each lost piece is as follows:

• Sectional plate - $10
• Glass - $2
• Spoon - $1 

Why should I use steel utensils?

There are many excellent reasons. Take your pick:

•   If you enjoy NATURE and it pains you to see it being destroyed: Be a part of the solution and not the problem.

•   If you worry about your HEALTH and the health of your guests: Serving hot food in Styrofoam, plastic or paper dishes leaches harmful chemicals in your food. Why risk?

•    If you like to eat ORGANIC: Remember, what goes around, comes around. If you keep polluting soil, water, and air with the garbage you generate, the toxicity comes right back to you through the very same elements. Nature doesn’t work in isolation. Also, if you're being so careful to eat organic, it beats me why would you infuse your food with a cocktail of toxic chemicals!

•   If you have KIDS and you want to ensure a good future for them: Natural calamities will increase in frequency and intensity. Along with good education and health, you should think about giving your kids a sound environmental education. Kids learn by watching. You would be raising environmentally–conscious kids by your positive actions. 

•   Do you VOLUNTEER ? Yes? Great! Consider this as volunteering for another cause. 

     No? Great! This is an opportunity for you to start.

•  If you’re SPIRITUAL: You feel the oneness or interconnectedness of all beings and therefore like to care for the whole system. If you don't want the garbage from disposables in your own backyard, trust me, nobody else does. 

•   If you’re savvy with ECONOMICS : You would know that a dollar saved is a dollar earned. Why make money go down a trash bag by using disposables if you can help it? 
• If you like to TRAVEL but hate to see the litter: It breaks my heart to see beaches littered with washed up waste. There is hardly a place in the whole wide world which is unaffected by the litter we produce. If we want to keep the earth beautiful, we have to work towards it and not produce waste wherever we can help it. 

I use bagasse plates. Why should I bother?

Bagasse plates go to landfill and they don't get degraded aerobically. What does it mean? 

It means that oxygen is required for anything to break down. This is called aerobic degradation. In landfills, there is a very limited amount of oxygen. When anything degrades without or very less oxygen, that is called anaerobic degradation. Anaerobic degradation produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas and is 22 times more powerful than carbon-di-oxide in creating a greenhouse effect. 

Did you know that even fruit and vegetable peels, which are naturally 100 percent biodegradable, don't get degraded in landfills? In an interesting find, a newspaper was taken out of a landfill after 40 years. It was still intact and readable! So unless you are composting the bagasse plates, they just end up in landfills, where they don't degrade well.

At the end of the day, 'Reduce' is the holiest R of them all!

I use paper plates. Why should I bother?

Paper plates are generally coated with a thin plastic or waterproof coating to make them hold soggy food. Such coated plates cannot be composted. On top of that, they leach harmful chemicals in food. Paper plates don't get recycled either. The only place they end up is in a landfill. And you all now know ahat happens in a landfill....

Remember the Amazon fires? The more paper you use, the more fires you're helping ignite.

It's just one party. Why should I bother?

With an event at almost every weekend, you're being exposed to harmful chemicals ever so often. It all builds up. Studies show that we consume approximately a credit card's worth of plastic every week!

Think of all the trash bags that get thrown away at the end of each party and think that you won't be a part of that.

I have more than 20 guests. Why should I bother?

Every bit counts. You can add your own reusable plates to the ones you borrow from Green Karma 360. You can borrow from friends too. If I’ve been able to save 1000 plus plates from being landfilled with this collection, so can you. If you haven't already done so, you can read my experiences at:

https://www.greenkarma360.com/2019/08/ab-tak-chappan-56-and-counting.html

Aren’t you using water in cleaning reusable plates? I’m saving water by using disposable plates.

Haha! This is such a huge fallacy and takes a myopic view of the situation. It gets forgotten that much more water and energy is used at each stage of manufacturing and transporting disposables. And then they get thrown after a single use!!

Trees --> Paper Pulp -->Paper -->Plates--> Landfill

Apart from resources (raw material, energy, and water) used in manufacturing disposable plates, energy is also used in transporting waste to a landfill. The environmental cost of waste in landfills or oceans is so high, we simply can’t afford to pay it anymore. 

In case of reusables, once the product has been manufactured, energy is spent only on maintenance. 

Tips for Hosts

Congratulations on making the start. You should really be proud of yourself!

Now get ready with logistics to handle the used plates. These tips will come in handy for smooth sailing:

•    Request a friend to be your green buddy. Ask her/ him to give a heads-up to guests about the reusable plates and to help the host by complying with directions.

•   Make or print A4 size paper with directions - station for soiled plates, cutlery and glasses. Place tubs with clearly marked labels for each category.

• Place a marked trash can/ garbage bag nearby for leftover food. 

•   Let your green buddy direct guests on how and where to put the used plates. She can Whatsapp the directions a day in advance too. 

•   Gently guide guests to remove leftover food from plates and stack the plates, glasses, and spoons in their respective piles. Handhold the first couple of guests and the rest will follow suit.

•    If the party is at home, the plates can be stacked in the sink or a pre-assigned spot. Post a sign near the sink with directions to rinse the plates and load them in dishwasher. 

•  If the party is outdoors, carry back the used utensils in garbage bags or containers.

  
Tips for Guests

Appreciate the host for greening the get-together. Do your bit to make things easier for the host.

• Do not leave your used dishes at the table for others to clear.

• If you're not sure, ask the host about the station for used dishes.

• Remove all food residue from your plate. Stack the plate at the right station. Ditto for glass and cutlery.

• If the party is at home and you have access to the sink, rinse your plate lightly before stacking.

• Ask the host if you can help stack your rinsed plate in the dishwasher.

• Be respectful of the host and follow the given cues.

Still have Questions?

Mail to greenkarma360@gmail.com

Ab Tak Chhappan (56 and Counting)

Actually, it's 560.

Well, what about 560?

560 is the number of plates and spoons that I've managed to save from landfills in the last couple of years. 

How? 

By carrying my own reusable plate and cutlery to get-togethers and lending my reusable plates to others for their events. (Well, the number is 560 plus now but the title mimicked the movie 'Ab Tak Chhappan' and I hoped to catch your attention with it. It worked, didn't it!)

My socio-environmental experiment on 'Bring Your Own Plate' (BYOP) has been quite interesting so far. 

When I moved to the US about three years back, I was flabbergasted to see high use of disposables. Be it a hotel breakfast or a casual eating joint, the rate of waste creation was alarming. If I went to eat out, a mound of disposables like boxes or plates, plastic cutlery, tissues, ketchup sachets etc. piled up very fast. 

At get-togethers and birthday parties, the throwaway mania would be at its peak. Right from decorations to tablecloths, serving trays to plates and cutlery, water bottles to paper napkins, everything would be a one-time use. It burned a hole right into my heart to see perfectly good plastic table cloths being trashed. "But you can use them for the next birthday party!" I tried to reason with a host. "Don't bother. They're just a dollar each. Besides, who's going to clean and store them? And the theme of the party won't be the same next year!" 

Slowly, as I started making friends, I urged them to hold eco-friendly get-togethers. I wrote to event organizers and temples to serve food in reusable plates quoting how all waste goes to landfills and oceans. Everybody would appreciate and agree with these concerns. They would nod knowingly and say "We completely understand and we also try to be eco-friendly but..."

But...

The but always butted in! The 'but' had a few variations which were:

• It is too inconvenient. 

• It's work enough throwing a party. Who would like to work post-party, washing plates?

• There is no help here like in India. 

• Everyone else is using disposables. How would my not doing so make a difference?

• The temples cited a lack of volunteers. "Everyone leaves right after the program. How can a few of us manage everything?

I couldn't blame them. "If you can't beat them, join them", goes a saying. I begged to differ. "If you can't change them, change yourself"! Why not carry my own reusable plate and spoon to parties? I could also carry my own water bottle. This way I would at least not be a part of this throwaway madness. That was my aha moment! 

So when I went to the next birthday party, I carried a plate and spoon in the car with me. But at the last moment, I couldn't find the courage to actually whisk them out. I was new to the country, trying to fit in and I feared being branded a bumpkin - fresh off the boat- ignorant of western social mores. So I came back defeated from a couple of parties. 

However, the issue kept bothering me. I could not stop socializing because of this. At the same time, I could also not be a mute spectator. Then, the power of the written word worked its magic. I came across a few quotes and they seemed to speak directly to me. 


"Be the change you want to see." 

"If no one responds to your call, venture alone." 

"I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about it. Then I realized, I am somebody." 

"Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is doing it.   Right is right, even if nobody is doing it."

The last one got me all shook up. Basically, it nailed it for me! When I knew it was wrong to use disposables and I could easily rectify that by carrying my own stuff, why wasn't I doing it just because "what would people say"?

This prompted me to create a modus operandi. If I got an invite, I requested the host to use reusable plates, spoons, and glasses. I offered to take a dozen plates of mine and also offered to help clean up post-party. Most of them politely declined, saying that though the thought was excellent, they wouldn't be able to do it at that time. Then I would tell the hostess that I would like to bring my own plate and cutlery and hope she didn't mind. Of course, she had no issues. So I found my opening and started carrying my own plate. It saved some awkwardness during the party when I pulled out my plate and spoon from my bag. Victory, at last!

My loyal accomplice in BYOP for a few years now!

Carrying my own plate became an interesting conversation starter. People would give me a totally incredulous look. 

"You mean you carried your own plate here?" 

"Yes."

"But, why? Are you a Brahmakumari?" 
"Interesting! You know, they used to do the same in my town way back!" 
"Nice to see you walk the talk."
"You're doing a great thing but what difference would a single plate make? See the heap of trash there?"

Whatever the reaction, I was glad that people were at least talking about the issue. 

I had a couple of sectional steel plates that I had brought when I was setting up my household. These plates were convenient because they could hold 5 different dishes and made bowls superfluous. I decided to buy more of these and soon got 15 plates. Now, I started urging friends to use these at their parties. I would carry these plates to their home or venue. At the end of the party, a few friends would help stack them in the dishwasher or hand wash them. 

Green soldier, who has saved many a disposable plate.

Soon, our parties started turning green. There were setbacks with a few people refusing to use steel plates (remember the but?) but the positives far outnumbered the negatives. We still had to use disposable glasses and spoons at times. I decided to buy these too in time. 

A growing family of eco-warriors.

My idea was to have a steel utensils bank where I would lend these steel plates, cutlery and glasses for parties. Now that the test model worked, I was ready to try it out on a bigger scale. My joy knew no bounds when someone asked me if he could borrow these plates for a get-together at home. Pure happiness! 

Now, I'm much more comfortable carrying my plate around. My friends and acquaintances are used to seeing me with it. I'm not a social outcast - yet! 

This experiment has also inspired me to start a steel utensils bank, wherein people can borrow steel plates, spoons and glasses for free to reduce waste. More about it in my next post.

So, my learning from this experiment has been that if you have an idea for any positive change, just go for it. The world will adjust around you!

This Kanjak Pooja, Worship Little And Big Goddesses In An Eco-Friendly Way

It's kanjak time! That time of the year when little girls are pampered, worshipped and made to feel very, very special and important. They are showered with food and gifts...aah gifts!! Pure bliss!

While the spirit and menu have remained unchanged over the years, fast-paced life has redefined the way this festival is celebrated. While some still like to invite little girls home, others like to take goodies to their home. 

In whatever manner you celebrate, you can choose to green it with a few tweaks:

1. Use reusable plates: 

If you invite kanyas to your home, use steel/ ceramic plates and cutlery. If you want to use disposables, use banana leaves or traditional leaf plates and bowls.

It's easy enough to follow that at home. Load the dishwasher with extra dishes. Pay extra to your help to do the dishes. 

Think of it as a part of worshipping Bhoodevi - the Earth Goddess. Don't trash Bhoodevi to appease other goddesses. Believe me, they're all related and angering one would anger the whole sisterhood! 

2. Ditch disposables in all forms:

If you are going with the goodies to girls' houses, do not carry food in styrofoam  containers and Ziplocs. The best way would be to carry all the food in separate reusable containers or in that classic three or four tiered steel tiffin. When you go to a home, request the host for a plate and transfer a portion of goodies there. This is the easiest and the best option as it honors the first R of the 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle' mantra. 

The only glitch here would be your hesitation and the 'what would people say' syndrome. In this day and age of disposables, why would anybody do this? 

If anybody asks, say it's for everyone's health. Our earth and oceans are spilling with trash, making life unlivable for many creatures. The fact that you are doing kanjak pooja points to the fact that you worship Devi. If you throw trash on that Devi in order to worship her, contemplate on what kind of worship it is and do you really want to continue a tradition mindlessly.

Just to make it easier for the first time, it's a good idea to inform all parents beforehand about how you would be doing it and why. Trust me, it's not that difficult. I have started carrying my own reusable plates and cutlery to get-togethers and once people know the reason behind it, I get appreciated (and wondered at!). 

It also raises awareness and inspires others to do the same. More on this in a later post. I just wanted to touch upon it to emphasize that it can be done and no, you won't be ostracized socially. 

Food served in plastic, styrofoam and aluminum foil is not only bad for the environment, it's harmful for health too. You wouldn't like to harm little devis, whose blessings you seek, in any way, right?

If you must use disposables, go for leaf bowls and plates (hunt them as it's getting difficult to find them these days), uncoated paper plates or bagasse plates. You can also consider gifting steel plates with food served on them. Again, keep away from melamine or plastic versions.

3. Say 'No' to plastic bags of all kind:

Avoid using Ziplocs or plastic bags for giving gifts. A paper bag would serve just fine. Do away with plastic toys or gifts. If you don't know what to give, just a bit of money is good enough. When I was a kid, I used to love getting a 1 Rupee coin from each house. Adjust for inflation and you're good to go. When you're 6, it's a great feeling to be the sole owner of a few precious coins or bills. It makes you feel truly goddess-like and royal!

Last, but not the least, 

4. Don't mix it up:

Those single boxes, where halwa mingles with chana, and pooris try to cover it all up, are a no-no. My daughter refuses to eat such a mix.

As you also know, little girls are highly sought after on ashtami and there's only so much that they can eat. It's the parents who end up finishing most of the stuff and trust me, eating a mix of these goodies is no fun for either kids or adults. A chana-halwa mix is served as prasad in temples, but as kanjaks are cosmopolitan now, they might not be used to that taste. So if you want the little goddesses to eat with interest, serve smaller portions and serve them separately. That would avoid unnecessary waste.

Have a beautiful kanjak pooja and worship the Goddess right. If you have other ideas to make the celebration eco-friendly, I would love to hear them.

Who Will Really Say "Michhami Dukkadam" To The Planet?

"Michhami Dukkadam - May my bad deeds be forgiven. If I have offended you in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought, word or deed, then I seek your forgiveness."  

You might have heard this request for forgiveness from your Jain friends towards the end of Paryushan, which is their spiritual and fasting period around August-September. Jains ask for forgiveness from everyone - be it people, animals, plants - basically, all life forms. A very noble thought indeed! We all commit mistakes. It's good to realize that and apologise, with the intention of not repeating them. 

Jainism is one of the most sustainability-oriented philosophies in the world, which is also practiced widely. Jainism believes that there is  'jiva' (life) in all living forms. All life forms must be treated with utmost respect and they should not be hurt in any way. Nonviolence is a basic tenet of Jainism and has to be practiced towards everyone - be it fellow human beings, animals, vegetation or even microbes. Jain sages wear a piece of cloth over their mouths and noses, so that even smallest form of life form does not get killed accidentally by inhalation or ingestion. 

The concept of seeking forgiveness is being imbibed by many other people too. I admire that, but wonder, when will we, the human race, say 'Michhami Dukkadam' to the planet? 

Isn't creating waste and pollution, a form of violence?

Isn't mindless consumption, a form of violence?

Isn't endangering fellow creatures for momentary convenience, a form of violence?

Have a look at these pictures:

A beach littered with washed up waste in Maldives. Picture source - greenkarma360.com

The planet is riddled with billions of tons of waste - Picture Source- Pixabay

That mangled plastic bottle? Yeah, it's the same as you threw away when you were too lazy to fill your own reusable one.

That plastic bag? It's the one that you had mindlessly used while grocery shopping. You could have carried your own cloth bag.

That Ziploc...it might be the one in which you had packed your lunch when you could have used a reusable container. 

And those disposables...remember the parties you threw or attended over the years? Plastic cutlery, styrofoam plates, takeaways, packaging - everything is in this great garbage stew, the likes of which dot our planet from end to end. 

Though you might have religiously put your waste in recyclable bins, the bad news is that almost 90% of plastic waste doesn't get recycled. Also, those soiled sandwich bags and dirty styrofoam plates are beyond recycling. 

So where does all this garbage finally land?

It violates the earth.

A usual sight in many countries. Picture Source : Pixabay

It violates the oceans.

  

Litter swept down from the sea, Dhigurah, South Ari Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean

                                         Picture source - greenkarma360.com

      

It violates animals. 

    Cows ingesting disposables and falling sick. Picture source - Greenkarma360.com

It violates birds.

Albatross in Midway Atoll, Pacific Ocean. Picture Source: Chris Jordan. 

And it violates our own health and senses. 

It's high time we say Michhami Dukkadam to Mother Earth. 

Ask forgiveness for our past misdeeds and resolve not to commit the same mistakes again. 

How?

• By bringing an eco-consciousness in everyday consumption.
• Making earth-friendly choices in day-to-day living.
• Whenever we buy or do something, run a quick litmus test on how the stuff would get disposed. How would it impact our planet? Would it hurt someone when disintegrating? If yes, think of the least damaging alternative and go for that instead.

Follow:

• Reduce, Reduce and Reduce.
• Reuse, Repair, Repurpose and last of all, Recycle. 
• Practice BYO - Bring your own bag, cutlery, plates, water etc. for outings, takeaways, parties and get-togethers.
• Dispose disposables. Single use products are a bane to earth's resources. Remember, the cost of our convenience is someone's life. 
• Choose stuff with no or minimal packaging. Write to corporates to reduce packaging.
• Speak up when you see something that can be changed in your community or workplace. 
• Think. Think of the tweaks in your lifestyle to be more eco-friendly.

There are tons of ways and helpful websites, if we have the will.  We just need to take that step.

The earth is beautiful, kind and giving. It might still forgive us, if we mean 'Michhami Dukkadam' with all our collective hearts - NOW! 

A Little Less

Flooding in Mumbai. Smog in Delhi. Frothing lakes in Bengaluru. And festive season on our hands. How do we celebrate?

Celebrations generally mean more of everything. Food, clothes, gifts, decorations, parties, visits. More consumption and consequently, more waste. Wasted food, disposed packaging, and decorations, smoke due to crackers, unwanted gifts, increased travel.

How do we make it less painful for the planet and in turn, us? There is a universal law that whatever goes around, comes around. So if the planet suffers, we are bound to suffer along - caste, creed, gender, economic status notwithstanding.

When flooding, smog, and frothing happen, we curse authorities. But when we are asked to cut down on our conveniences, we argue, complain and make excuses.

It's time to rethink ways in which we celebrate festivals. By taking cues from our childhood or maybe our parents' childhood, when life was simpler and unpretentious. When there weren't many choices, means were limited and simple pleasures were derived out of games, conversations, music, dance, and arts.

Decoratives did not mean buying plastic garlands and lanterns. Bandanwaars made of flowers and leaves, decorated doors and altars. Houses were decorated with rangolis and maandanas, which in turn were painted with red-colored mud and white-colored lime, all-natural stuff.

Sweets meant mostly homemade laddoos and burfis. Packaged sweets were hardly exchanged. Instead, we went to each other's houses to meet, greet and eat.

New clothes were eagerly awaited as they were bought occasionally.

My Mom recounts parties that she attended in her childhood. Food used to be a simple fare of poori, one or two curries, raita, one sweet, one savory and a drink. It was served in leaf plates and bowls. As for water or drinks, steel glasses were carried from home by each family. The origins of bring your own. Siblings used to fight over turns to carry glasses till the venue!

Let's make a few simple efforts this festive season.

Social get-togethers in apartment communities, homes, temples? Do not use disposables. Borrow or rent dishes and cutlery. Guests can be requested to come with their own plates, cutlery, and bottles. Too radical? Speak to people. Talk it out. Tell them why it should be done. Send them videos about pollution in oceans and overflowing landfills. Ask them to be a part of the solution. 

Every big change starts with a little step. People are mostly ready to do their bit. If you can't borrow or rent, consider buying extra dishes which you can use for your parties and then lend to others. 

Vow not to waste food. Buy what you can use and eat whatever you take in our plate. 

Decorate with biodegradable or reusable paper stuff. Club resources with neighbors to make a big rangoli. It fosters community spirit.

Gift with discretion. Does the other person really need or value your gift? If gift you must, choose an eco-friendly and bio-degradable option. Avoid packing the gift. Use a paper bag with a gift tag.

Get together with neighbors to burst crackers. Watch them when they burst theirs and invite them to watch when you burst yours. Limit them in any case.

Traveling? Consider using public transport to reach the railway station or airport.

Little measures when undertaken by all, would create a mighty difference. 

Happy festivities, everyone!

How To Reuse Jars - Get Rid Of Stickers From Plastic And Glass

Many a time, grocery items are packed in lovely jars. I love to reuse these jars for storing kitchen stuff but hate the stickers on them. Recently, when I tried cleaning them by soaking in water and then applying elbow grease, I was rewarded with half torn stickers which looked even shabbier! I wasn't able to throw away the jars because of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) but at the same time, I couldn't get myself to use them. 

Then I turned to omniscient Google. (Is there anything that google can't answer!!) Google recommended to apply oil / peanut butter on stickers and leave them for 24 hours. I had a bottle of used oil - the leftover after frying - and I was delighted to use it in some manner.

Here's how I went about the whole process and you can too:

1. Apply oil liberally on sticker with brush or finger. Rub it well on edges. 

2. Let the jar stand for 12 hours. 

3. After the wait, try peeling the sticker from one of the edges. Chances are, it will come off partially. Repeat the process from all 4 corners. 

4. If the sticker doesn't come off fully, don't despair. Rub oil all over again, with more emphasis on the edges and let it stand for next 12 hours. 

5. This time, the sticker should come off fully. If there are still a few traces, you can reapply oil. 

6. Wash the jars with warm soapy water. 

My jars looked as good as new. And without any ungainly scratches too! I was so happy with a job well done. The cherry on the cake was that there was absolutely no elbow grease required. This is a frustration-free and foolproof method to get rid of stickers both from plastic and glass bottles. 

So what are you waiting for? Get going!

The King of Houseplants

Are you the kind of person:

• Who aches to have a dash of natural green in her house but has no time to fuss over it?

• Who manages to kill even deadwood?

• Whose fingers are the very antithesis of green?

• Who has bouts of amnesia and forgets to water plants or is a trave bug and leaves plants to fend for themselves?

Then, ladies and gentlemen here's THE plant which is my latest heartthrob from the plant kingdom.

Aloe Vera, also called as Gwarpatha or Ghrit Kumari

High on goodness and low on maintenance, it's a paragon of virtue. When I was away from home for a week and left aloe vera pots standing in a tub filled with water, they were alright after my return. Even if they are left without this arrangement, they turn a little off-color and less succulent but a week's TLC is enough to bring them back to their former glory.

I like to describe aloe vera as a gel that grows naturally, has no expiry date and comes with eco-friendly packaging. You just have to cut a leaf and scoop out the gooey goodness. 

The gel is antibacterial and moisturizing. It has a cooling effect and is very good for cuts and burns. I have regularly used its gel for my face and body. It is good for hair too. When my daughter was in nappies, I used it for her diaper rashes. It works great for urine infections. Aloe vera is good for constipation, inflammation, and arthritis. No doubt, the gel is avidly used both in cosmetic and natural medicine industry.

This gel is edible and is used in various forms. It can be had as a drink or eaten raw. My Mom eats it as a salad. In Rajasthan, where it is found in abundance, it is cooked as a sabzi. I also saw this being used avidly in Singapore where it was sold in supermarket veggie shelves. There were aloe vera yogurts and juices. But the most interesting gastronomical use was as an ice cream topping! 

To top it all, aloe vera has been recommended by NASA as one of the top indoor air cleaning plants. So what are you waiting for? Just borrow a sapling from a friend and get the goodness home!