Spreading the idea of Sharing in a Novel Way

Sameera, a Bhopal based magazine, has initiated a novel way of nurturing the concept of sharing among people. They are decreasing their sales so that people consume less paper! Of course, this does not mean that they are looking to reducing their readership.

Ambreesh Mishra writes about Sameera in this article in India Today:

The Hindi monthly boasts of a modest circulation of 4,500 copies a month and discourages individual subscription, inviting groups to subscribe instead.

“If we cut down the use of paper, it saves trees,” says its 50-year-old editor Meera Singh. The magazine is printed on an environment-friendly handmade paper that is processed from discarded cloth and fabric bits.

And what are the savings they are looking at by encouraging group subscription instead of individual purchases?

“Each tonne of normal paper that is not used saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water,” she adds. Literary editor Mamata Tiwari adds, “Hopefully, our message has been imbibed by the readers.”

Handmade paper, according to the article, is coarse and hence absorbs more ink. This problem has been addressed by finding the right kind of heat treatment for the paper.
The article also states that by having the hand made paper manufactured near to the place of consumption there are potential fuel savings of Rs 1800 per tonne!

And above all, I think in addition to these savings, it will nurture the concept of sharing among the readers. Great way to decrease our environment and increase camaraderie within the population!

Read the complete article here.