Mumbai: As Ganeshotsav nears, city NGOs have taken the initiative to celebrate in an eco-friendly manner. From visiting schools to conduct workshops to creating social media accounts posts on decoration, they are going the extra mile to make the environment conducive for eco-friendly celebrations.
Aarati Savur, the CEO of Parisar Asha, an NGO creating awareness about the need for eco-friendliness of festivals, said, “We have been going to various schools to make sure that students learn how to make eco-friendly idols.” Parisar’s trustee Hansel D’Souza, said the idea is to impress the idea upon children so they can go home and influence their families and friends.
Students learning how to make eco-friendly idols. | FPJ
Students learning how to make eco-friendly idols. | FPJ
30 workshops every year
The NGO takes over 30 workshops every year on how to make eco-friendly Ganpati idols and why it is important to have an eco-friendly festival. “We first create awareness on why people should not use products that harm the environment. We teach them to make their own idols with shadu clay, toothpicks and ice cream sticks. We work free of charge with children,” added Savur.
The NGO takes 30 workshops every year on how to make eco-friendly Ganpati idols. | FPJ
FPJ
FPJ
The last workshop conducted by the NGO was at a school for special children. “Our school has disabled children with hearing impairment. When they have one disability, they tend to have other sharper senses, like the sense of art and concentration,” said Himali Salvi, teacher of Mookdhwani Vidyalaya in Vile Parle East.
Use of social media to spread the word
Another NGO, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (RUR), uses its social media handles to tell people about the products to consider for eco-friendly decoration. RUR’s founder Monisha Narker said, “In our posts on Instagram and Facebook, we tell them how they can use turmeric and beetroot juice as colours, and flowers, leaves, coconut shells and waste cloth fabric cut into shapes and strings for toran, among others.”
