On this week's edition of South Asia Wired: a special hospice in India's state of Kerala for disabled peope, and how a pressing environmental problem in Gujarat state was turned into an award-winning sustainable energy project.

Listen to this week's programme here (or click here):

Palliative care for the disabled
Typically, the terms 'hospice' and 'palliative care' mean that death is just around the corner. It's an effort to bring a measure of comfort to people in the end stages of a disease or their lives. But in a small town in the Indian state of Kerala, a team of dedicated doctors, nurses and volunteers has expanded that definition to include people who still have a long life ahead of them, but are disabled.

Cotton crop residue: waste it or save it?

Cotton farmers in Gujarat state (one of the world's top cotton growing regions) used to simply burn their massive crop residue, which lead to high levels of air pollution. These days, however, they collect the useless material and transport it to a pelletising facility where it's processed into a cheap and sustainable fuel for energy plants. A simple but effective idea, which recently won a prestigious Ashden Award for sustainability in London.