Who Is Prettal Fernandes?
Prettal Fernandes is one of India’s youngest sarpanches. She took charge of Agonda village at the age of 26 and quickly found herself dealing with a waste management crisis that affected both residents and the environment.
Rather than relying solely on official notices or awareness campaigns, Prettal chose a much more personal approach. For six months, she travelled through the village on a rickshaw equipped with a microphone, going door to door and speaking directly with residents about the importance of cleanliness and responsible waste disposal.
How One Young Leader Turned Agonda’s Waste Crisis Into A Community Movement
When people think of Goa, they picture pristine beaches, swaying palm trees, and laid-back coastal villages. Agonda, a popular beach destination in South Goa, is no different. Known for its scenic shoreline and relaxed atmosphere, the village attracts thousands of tourists every year. But the growing influx of visitors was creating an unexpected problem.
Plastic bottles, food packaging, and other waste were increasingly being discarded on roadsides and public spaces. Cows were often seen consuming plastic waste, garbage dumps had started catching fire, and the village’s waste management infrastructure was struggling to keep up with the rising volume of trash. What was once a peaceful coastal village was slowly being overwhelmed by a mounting waste crisis.
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When Prettal Fernandes took charge as Agonda’s sarpanch, she realized that simply asking people to keep the village clean would not be enough. The problem required a complete change in how waste was collected, processed, and understood by the community. Instead of waiting for someone else to solve it, she decided to build that system herself.
What System did Prettal Fernandes Build?
Prettal understood that awareness alone would not solve the problem. To improve accountability, she introduced door-to-door garbage collection and implemented QR-code tracking to ensure that no household was skipped during waste collection rounds. The village also installed solar-powered CCTV cameras to identify littering hotspots and discourage people from violating waste disposal rules. However, enforcement was only one part of the solution.
How Prettal Fernandes Created Jobs And Reduced Waste?
One of Prettal’s most impactful initiatives was employing 12 local residents to collect, segregate, and manage waste across the village. The collected waste was sorted carefully, while wet waste was converted into organic manure and distributed free of cost to villagers. This not only improved waste management but also created local employment opportunities and encouraged sustainable practices.
How Prettal Fernandes Turned Cleanliness Into A Community Effort?
Prettal actively involved school children and local youth in clean-up drives and awareness initiatives. Over time, the mindset within the village began to change. Residents started reporting littering incidents themselves, and cleanliness became a shared responsibility rather than something expected solely from local authorities.
It took nearly two years of consistent effort, community participation, and system-level changes. Agonda’s efforts eventually earned recognition from the Indian government, highlighting the village as an example of successful grassroots waste management. Today, Prettal is continuing her work by encouraging home composting and promoting more sustainable waste practices.
What Is The Village Like Today? Are People Still Living The Same Way?
While Agonda continues to welcome tourists from around the world, the village’s approach to waste management looks very different from what it did a few years ago.
The systems introduced under Prathal Fernandes’ leadership including door-to-door waste collection, QR-code tracking, waste segregation, CCTV monitoring, and community participation have helped create a stronger culture of accountability around cleanliness. Residents are reportedly more involved in reporting littering, while waste management has become a shared community responsibility rather than solely the panchayat’s burden.
And the work is still ongoing. With home composting now being encouraged, Agonda’s journey shows that sustainability is not a one-time achievement but a continuous process.