Editors' note: Lake Life editor Ashley Hanry is sending dispatches from her journey to India as part of the regional Rotary Exchange Program:

Nothing is wasted in India.

Every part of a coconut and sugarcane is used, water is conserved by bathing in buckets, and even cow dung has a purpose.

Southern India is a huge producer of coconuts. Along the side of the road will be carts with people selling coconut water. They use their small machete to cut off the top of the fruit to create an opening to drink the juice. Once all the juice is gone, they chop it in half and you eat the “jelly.” To scoop out the jelly one of the cut coconut pieces is used. After enjoying the juice and flesh, the outside shell is collected and next taken to the coir factory. Coir is a fiber mad with this outer shell.

On our fourth day in India, we visited a coir factory. The fiber is processed into small pieces, next pressed into shapes and made into floor mats, rope, mattresses and even flower pot inserts because the fibers can retain water and moisture for weeks.

No part of the coconut is wasted. Even the tree leaves are used. These are woven together to make solid pieces that can be used as roof material and fences. Small houses and extended buildings are seen all over made out of these dried leaves.

Another factory visit to Sakthi Sugars showed us how every part of sugarcane is used. Once the cane is dropped off, it is processed through chopping machines and all the liquid is extracted. Now there are two materials: the juice and a hay-like pulp.

The juice goes on to become sugar after two additional elements are added. The pulp is further processed to molasses or a richer pulp. The molasses becomes drinking alcohol or a type of ethanol to be used as a fuel. The extra pulp is ground into a fertilizer and sent back to the farms to start the process again.

We have also observed conservation in bathroom use. Showers are not common and most bathe by filling a bucket and using that container of water to splash their bodies clean.

Additionally, packaging is not excessive and paper plates, bags, etc. are made from recycled material. There is garbage, and it can be seen in piles along the roads. But there are goats, pigs and even people to go through it. The animals eat much of it, and people separate it to search for recyclable material.

Lastly, we have discovered that the yellow color seen at the entranceway of homes and businesses is actually cow dung. It is smeared into the sidewalks and stairs and is reused as a means of sanitation. Odd as it sounds, here the cow's dung is considered clean and special because it comes from their holy animal.

Overall, we have all appreciated the lack of waste and feel guilty when we have compiled a small pile of trash after one day.