And it happens cleanly in India: how is cleanliness observed in Maulinnong Village

Garbage is a big problem in India: from plastic bottles and wrappers to cow manure. But this does not apply to the village of Maulinnong. People here are so sensitive to order that they spend a huge amount of time cleaning so that every centimeter of the village literally sparkles with cleanliness.

Maulinnong first made headlines in 2003 when a Discover Magazine journalist named it Asia's cleanest village. Having learned that everyone here - from young children to the elderly - is concerned about keeping the village clean, the journalist decided to investigate this phenomenon and was literally amazed. His article attracted attention: people from all over the world went to Maulinnong to see this example of responsible attitude to the environment.

It sounds like a clever marketing ploy to attract tourists, but in fact everything is much more complicated. For the residents of Maulinnong, cleanliness has always been a priority. No one remembers exactly when it started. Some believe that the cause was an outbreak of cholera more than a century ago and it was she who prompted to keep order so that the disease did not spread. Others believe that the reason is the matrilineal nature of society. But one thing remains certain — these values have been passed from the elderly to the young for many generations.

How do they keep the village clean? The system is simple, but extremely effective. All residents are involved. Every morning, all the children sweep the streets before classes, empty the trash cans and sort the garbage. The collected leaves are thrown into a large pit, where they turn into compost. Plastic is recycled, and the rest of the garbage is incinerated. In general, smoking and the use of plastic is prohibited in the village, but sometimes it gets into the garbage because of tourists. Tourists sometimes litter, but the locals do not scold them, but simply continue to maintain cleanliness.

In this village, not only public places shine with cleanliness. Neatness is so ingrained in the residents of Maulinnong that exceptional order is maintained in every household.