The Zero Waste Centre, a part of the Zero Waste Kovalam project is a Resource Education Centre with the objective of imparting Training, Product Design and Development and Awareness about Resource Use. The Centre evolved from the need to compliment the effort of the Zero Waste Kovalam programme. The programme demands ideas, products and designs that are diverse and ecologically based.

The Zero Waste Centre is a Resource Education Centre with the objective of imparting Training, Product Design and Development and Awareness about Resource Use.

The Zero Waste Centre is intended to

• Be the Hub of innovations in materials substitution.
• Create Environmental Awareness among the Community, Students, Policy makers etc
• Build Capacity in production of sustainable products
• Provide a marketing space for sustainable products
• Develop a theme based-museum of sustainable products and craftwork. Presently the themes are Coconut shell, Jute, Cotton and other natural fibers and Paper.
• Generate surplus from sale proceeds to help more such ventures and be a non-profit Centre for the community.
• Provide a networking platform for artists, crafts persons, innovators, scientists, administrators, businesses and environmental activists to revisit the material use and policy and to move towards natural and sustainable material use.
• Be a Research Centre for Materials Management and Resource Use Studies and Education focusing on human and environmental health.

The attempt of the Zerowaste Centre is to provide both training and capacity building and a facility for continuous upgradation of skills in product and design development. The Centre is intended to help the panchayaths in Kerala who want to link up with the “Waste to Wealth” programme as part of the waste management. The programme is already supported by the Kerala Tourism Department and has the support of the Hotel and Restaurant Industry in Kovalam. The Kudumbasree mission has already supported one Self help Group (SHG) in Paper product manufacture and the Panchayath Plan fund has supported ten SHG’s in Organic farming. There has been some individual supporters and Financial support from the Association for India Development (AID) is expected for the Zero Waste Centre.

The Zero Waste Centre works on a non-commercial basis. One major objective in the long term is to have a cluster of micro-scale production units working from a family or neighborhood groups or Self-Help Groups. The Centre would provide the facility for training, and regular refreshing with internships. The Trainees would also be imparted with capacity building exercises on Office Management, Accounting, Market Promotion and Leadership.