CREATING HAPPY FEET

Two social entrepreneurs transform discarded shoes and waste into footwear, school bags and mats, giving underprivileged children both essentials and hope

- DHAVAL S. KULKARNI

Marathoners Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami faced a peculiar problem.

They used several pairs of shoes every year, leaving them with a pile of old ones. “We wanted to recycle old shoes, but the concept of these being recycled and refurbished was unheard of,” says Bhandari.

Originally from Udaipur, Bhandari was in Mumbai for his education. There, he bonded with Dhami, who had run away from his village in Uttarakhand at the age of nine to become an actor. What brought them together was their shared passion for running.