Pramod Kumar

Indian social entrepreneur developing biodegradable alternatives to plastic in rural Odisha

Pramod Kumar's 2022 breakthrough in bio-plastic innovation has transformed waste management in Odisha's villages. His company EarthBinds produces packaging materials from locally sourced banana stem fibers and rice husks, creating an eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastics. This solution directly addresses India's plastic waste crisis while generating income for 300+ rural artisans through his artisan cooperative.

What makes Kumar's approach unique is his focus on decentralized production. Each village workshop uses simple machinery powered by solar energy, ensuring scalability without industrial pollution. His 2023 UNCTAD case study documents how this model reduced plastic waste by 40% in pilot regions while increasing farmers' incomes by 15%. The materials biodegrade in 180 days compared to plastic's 450 years, earning 2024 Green Business Awards.

Kumar's journey began during his 2019 fellowship at Indian Green Development Project, where he documented how plastic waste clogged irrigation systems in Odisha's farming communities. His Kiva-funded initiative trained farmers to collect agricultural waste for material production. Critics questioned profitability, but his 2025 partnership with Dabur Ayurveda for packaging shows commercial viability. His TEDx talk "Rural Innovation in the Circular Economy" has been viewed over 2 million times.