Maria (Leaks and Showers: My Road to Conservation)

Written by Maria Thomas

My name is Maria Thomas. I am an Economics graduate with a Master’s in International Relations. I am committed to the cause of climate change with a special interest in water management and conservation. 

My passion towards water conservation has been inherent. I have always been inclined towards ensuring not a single drop of water is wasted since childhood. There have been instances where I have had to wage a war with my parents in trying to convince them not to install showers but stick to using buckets in every washroom while building our new home.

I have also been teased as ‘kulikkaathaval’ (the one who does not bathe) by my siblings due to my passion for advising them to use water wisely during their brushing and bathing sprees. I have always found it difficult to ignore the usually unnoticed leaking public taps, be it near my catechism classes, or on the way to school or in a party hall leading to the often-unanswered phone calls to the concerned authorities.   

Therefore, my friends and I often took it upon ourselves to mend the leaks using old shawls and towels while the gushing water stained our hearts with memories for a lifetime. 

There have also been situations where I have tried closing my eyes to water wastage in attempts to take advice from those around me that I should work on my ‘stingy’ water practices. I have to agree that my obsessive passion in using ‘insufficient’ water (according to my mother) while washing utensils, pestering my warden about the overflowing motor-tank in hostel, and closing running taps in public places have cost my near and dear one’s time, energy, and money. After repeated pushes from them I was beginning to pull in my conservation efforts and question the effects of these efforts- will a single person’s actions make a difference in the world’s water map?

The conservationist in me was slowly losing enthusiasm until I landed my first job in Care Earth Trust, an organisation committed to the cause of biodiversity conservation through research, advocacy and capacity building. Here I was fortunate to be a part of projects dedicated to the cause of water- one that explores the role of nature-based solutions in water management and treatment and another focuses on building flood resilience among an urban community. Going around, advocating and convincing people of the need to conserve water and the different ways to do the same has been indeed fulfilling. From taking small efforts in childhood to now advocating at a city level for the same cause that I was always anchored to seems surreal. During these ventures I met like-minded people whose zeal and commitment towards ‘Mother Earth’ truly filled me with hope and energy to continue my journey in this field.

From one conservationist to another, do not be disheartened or discouraged by people or circumstances, continue to do your thing and nature has its own way of rewarding your passion.