Indira Patil

Indira Patil
Designation: Former Research Assistant
Indira Patil provided research support for the impact evaluation of the collective impact initiative for waste pickers in Bengaluru supported by the H&M Foundation.

Blogs by author

How sanitation collectives in India help the marginalized earn livelihood and respect

Aastha Dang, Indira Patil 18 November 2022 blog  
Deepa (name changed), a 36-year-old transgender woman, had to flee her home in southern India when she was 18. She came to Delhi and subsequently underwent sex reassignment surgery. Recalling her days in the capital, she says, “I used to beg in trains and at traffic signal junctions for survival. During marriages or other celebrations, I would go to people’s houses demanding money”. She further adds, “Society treats us with disdain because of who we are and what we do. However, lack of viable job opportunities forces us to resort to these methods of earning a living”.

Sanitation-linked livelihoods project: Six key insights from a learning study

Indira Patil, Aastha Dang 15 September 2022 blog  
In this blog, we discuss the key findings emerging from our study—supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and conducted in partnership with the Technical Support Units (TSUs) of the states.

Three ways theories of change are helping evaluate a complex initiative to improve waste pickers’ lives

Stuti Tripathi, Chandan Jain, Indira Patil, Saumya Mathur 16 May 2022 blog  
Urban waste pickers face several intertwined challenges such as low incomes, limited education, poor health, social marginalization, and domestic violence. In Bengaluru, India, 3ie is currently evaluating an initiative called Saamuhika Shakti, which adopts an innovative ‘Collective Impact’ approach to improving the lives of informal waste pickers. The initiative, just like the problems it looks to address, is complex.