January 1st 2021 saw the launch of South Asians for Sustainability, introducing our mission and values as a community-led organisation.
Our Mission
Our Values
Together with the incredible illustrator Isher Dhiman, our logo was created representing various aspects of South Asian culture and heritage.
You’ll find a map of South Asia in the middle, connected to the roots of a plant. The roots represent South Asian traditions strongly grounded in our ancestral countries. The plant represents nature and trees, commonly associated with being the Earth’s lungs and a big nature-based solution for climate change.
The hand represents our common responsibility to take care of the planet and hold onto the privileges it provides us with. It also draws inspiration from mudras – symbolic hand gestures or marks, practiced frequently in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.
The circle around the map represents circularity. This is a concept used by many environmental scientists as the key to reduce excess use and waste.
Both the hand and circle can also be interpreted as the circle of life and the part we play in our choices or karma.
The choices of colour were based on the ancient ayurvedic natural elements: Yellow and Orange representing Fire. Blue for Water. Brown and Green for Earth and White for Air and Space.
What is Sustainability?
South Asia, a subregion of Asia, is made up of 8 countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and The Maldives.
Home to one of the world’s earliest known civilisations; the Indus civilisation, South Asia is now one of the most densely populated regions on planet Earth.
Despite a history of ethnic, linguistic, religious and political fragmentation, there are common cultural and ethical outlooks; a wealth of ancient literature in Sanskrit, Prākrit, and hundreds of regional languages. There are also many shared rituals, customs and modes of worship, with music and dance at the centre of South Asian tradition and arts.
The main mountain ranges of South Asia include the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram Range, the Himalayas and the Eastern and Western Ghats. The main rivers include the Indus, Ganges (Ganga), Narmada and Brahmaputra.
South Asians for Sustainability 