India's Circular Economy in Action - Learnings from Traditions and Margins

This book presents a series of case studies which highlight culturally embedded circular economy practices of reuse, repair, and regeneration in India.
Far from innovations, these traditions reflect ways of living that have long sustained communities within ecological limits. From terracotta clusters in Rajasthan to bamboo-timber houses in Sikkim, palm-leaf artefacts in Kerala, and community commons in Chhattisgarh, they demonstrate that circularity is not an abstract policy goal but a lived inheritance. Against this backdrop, Purva Tavri explores how practices from the margins can offer valuable lessons for the affluent world, wherever it may be located. Drawing on her lived experiences in India and professional work in the UK, Tavri maps the social, cultural, economic, and ecological impacts of these traditions against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, framing them as reverse learning with replicability and scalability for advancing circularity and resilience. At the same time, she raises a caution: as the affluent increasingly appropriate practices from the margins, policies and systems must protect these communities from displacement, or loss of ownership over their traditions.
India's Circular Economy in Action will be of great interest to students, scholars and professionals whose research and work relates to the circular economy, resource consumption, sustainable development and waste management.

List of contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgements
1. Connecting the dots
2. Rajasthan: Earth, Fire, and Legacy
3. Ikra Houses of Sikkim: A Blueprint for What We Stand to Lose
4. A Future Woven in Leaves
5. Homecoming - Where the Circle Begins
6. Connecting the dots continues
Index

About the author

Purva Tavri is a Chartered Environmentalist and a Chartered Waste Manager based in the UK, with a PhD in reuse and pro environmental behaviour.

Product details

• Authors: Purva Tavri
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 22.01.2026
• EAN: 9781032844039
• ISBN: 978-1-032-84403-9
• No. of pages: 136
• Illustrations: schwarz-weiss Illustrationen, Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Series: Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Development / Sustainable Development, Sociology, Society & culture: general, HOUSE & HOME / Sustainable Living, India, Environmental Economics, Regional Studies, Environmental Management, Social impact of environmental issues, Regional / International studies, Society and culture: general, Development Studies