MY BACKGROUND
My name is Chloe Hauenstein and I was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Research Grant to study in India for a year beginning in August 2014. I graduated from Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in May 2014, with a major in International Relations and Psychology. In addition to studying these topics in Claremont, California, I have spent approximately eleven months throughout the past four years pursuing research, language study, and internships abroad in countries such as Ghana, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and India.
I spent the summer after my freshman year living in a small town in Ghana, assisting a grassroots non-profit organization that serves female fishmongers. This experience sparked my interest in international development. As a result, I interned in New Delhi, India for the Institute of International Education after my sophomore year. During that summer, I discovered a passion for India; therefore, I spent the summer after my junior year studying Urdu in Lucknow, India with the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship program. Additionally, during the spring semester of my junior year, I studied in Argentina in an effort to become professionally proficient in Spanish after five years of previous study.
I spent the summer after my freshman year living in a small town in Ghana, assisting a grassroots non-profit organization that serves female fishmongers. This experience sparked my interest in international development. As a result, I interned in New Delhi, India for the Institute of International Education after my sophomore year. During that summer, I discovered a passion for India; therefore, I spent the summer after my junior year studying Urdu in Lucknow, India with the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship program. Additionally, during the spring semester of my junior year, I studied in Argentina in an effort to become professionally proficient in Spanish after five years of previous study.
MY RESEARCH
During my semester in Argentina, I researched waste management and recycling systems that enhance environmental practices and employment opportunities. My yearlong CMC senior thesis was an extension of that project, and I am excited that my Fulbright Research Grant will allow me to continue this research. I will be living in New Delhi, India for a full year beginning in August 2014. For the first three months, I will devote my time to studying Urdu (4-5 hours per day.) Beginning in November, I will research at The Energy and Resources Institute, intern with two NGOs focused on sustainable development, and work with two local waste management experts.
India produces approximately 42 million tons of waste annually, but lacks efficient waste management and recycling systems. Waste pickers are responsible for recycling about 20% of Indian urban waste, but their work is dangerous and stigmatized. In some countries, waste picker cooperatives have succeeded in improving waste pickers’ livelihoods and the sanitation of cities. I will study the relationship between waste picker cooperatives and the achievement of environmental and economic goals in New Delhi. Through my project, I hope to gain insight on ways in which municipal governments can work with these cooperatives to engage in more environmentally sound and economically sustainable practices.
India produces approximately 42 million tons of waste annually, but lacks efficient waste management and recycling systems. Waste pickers are responsible for recycling about 20% of Indian urban waste, but their work is dangerous and stigmatized. In some countries, waste picker cooperatives have succeeded in improving waste pickers’ livelihoods and the sanitation of cities. I will study the relationship between waste picker cooperatives and the achievement of environmental and economic goals in New Delhi. Through my project, I hope to gain insight on ways in which municipal governments can work with these cooperatives to engage in more environmentally sound and economically sustainable practices.