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A sustainable partnership between Prerna Agarwal and Shriti Pandey leads to innovative construction material

When ideas converge: Prerna Agarwal and Shriti Pandey's collaboration to create sustainable construction materials
March 31st, 2023
Shriti Pandey and Prerna Agarwal Blog

Photo provided by Prerna Agarwal

Photo provided by Prerna and Shriti

Prerna Agarwal and Shriti Pandey who were operating in different industries came together to possibly bring a new breakthrough innovation for an environmentally-friendly construction material. Prerna Agarwal is the founder and CEO of Samakhya Sustainable Alternatives, a company working towards alternative fibers and textiles through brand identities of Magra and Urmul Desert Crafts. While working with the local artisanal communities, she came across pastoralists who had started leaving their animals because of the extremely unsupportive ecosystem and meagre incomes from the occupation. Understanding the ecological and social significance of pastoralism as an occupation, Prerna and her team decided to address the challenges of pastoralists and artisans together by integrating these local fibers with the existing artisanal value chain. To break away from the existing market challenges, the team decided to explore the potential of these natural fibers in other industries such as building and packaging. This eventually led her to look for partners to expand their market for pastoral wool fiber - which has traditionally been used only as a textile material.

Shriti Pandey, CEO of Strawcture ECO, a company that is actively involved in experimenting with sustainable construction materials, has been intrigued by the potential of using natural materials in the construction industry and has developed a keen interest in working with pastoral fibers along with Prerna. 
 
Prerna and Shriti know each other through their journey at Acumen Fellows Program and beyond. They discovered their mutual passion for sustainability and social impact - a perfect match. Together, they saw an opportunity to create something truly special by combining their expertise in different fields.
 
With Prerna's background in textiles and crafts, and Shriti's experience in construction, they decided to experiment with pastoral fiber as a construction material. Samakhya set out to build a digital training center for local community members using Magra material alongside AgriBoard by Strawcture in the middle of a village in Rajasthan - 100 km away from any nearest city. Based on the encouraging results of the prototyping, the Samkahya-Strawcture collective knew a breakthrough is in pipeline.

Shriti and Prerna Blog

Photo shared by Prerna Agarwal with the community

The pastoral fibers were traditionally used for crafts and textiles, but with this new application in construction, it became a valuable material in a completely new industry. Samakhya named the fiber ‘Magra’ after the place where the pastors reside. It represents the brand and the identities of pastoral communities. With each others’ support, Prerna and Shriti were able to expand the market for Magra and introduce it to the construction industry. So far they have used it to build ICICI Bank's boardroom, a meditation center in Delhi, and insulation in the Gurgaon Heritage School, apart from testing it on other sites. The market for Magra is opening up, and has shown promising potential, with a level of traction being seen in international markets. Towards expansion, Samkhya will own and deepen the ecosystem while Strawcture will operate as the channel partner of the Magra fiber for diverse applications in the built environment space.

The creation of Magra has helped to create a market identity for the pastoralists and has also helped in generating business for traditional occupations like namda felters and local carpenters. In the first phase of product design, Samakhya worked with over 500 pastoralists, carpenters and felters to create thermal and acoustic insulation product lines using Magra. This has also opened the way for the almost-perished craft of namda felting, which is being revived in the process with women artisans.

Prerna and Shriti's partnership is creating a lasting impact, not only on the industries they worked in but also on the people whose lives were touched by the sustainable and ethical solutions they created. It is a true testament to the power of collaboration and innovation, and their partnership is a shining example of social impact and sustainability.

Shriti and Prerna with Jacqueline

Photo captured during Jacqueline Novogratz's visit to India

Through a series of spotlights, we will highlight some of the inspiring projects and collaborations that have emerged from the Acumen Foundry. These stories will demonstrate the power of partnerships and the impact that can be achieved when individuals come together to challenge the status quo and create a better world for all.