TREE OF LIFE WHERE WASTE BIRTHS WEALTH

AT first glance, the thrift shop run by Kalpataru in Madurai could be mistaken for a small art gallery.

- JEYALAKSHMI RAMANUJAM @Madurai

Kalpataru members segregate cardboard boxes and old clothes at the centre

(KK SUNDAR)

As you walk into the shop, you are greeted by a sculpture of Greek Titan Atlas, his shoulders straining under a globe fashioned entirely out of discarded materials. Nearby stands a warrior in a Corinthian helmet, armed with a spear and shield made of paper. On a low shelf, a doll dressed in pristine white attire stitched together from fabric remnants smiles serenely. These exhibits form the heart of Kalpataru, an NGO founded by the TVS management in 2020.

Named after the mythical wish-fulfilling tree, Kalpataru's mission is both simple and ambitious to turn waste into wealth and awareness into action. What began as a small idea within the TVS ecosystem has blossomed into a movement combining environmental care, women empowerment, and community welfare.