On 19 July 2024, Sarmaya organised a puppet-making workshop for the Kids for Tigers event by Sanctuary Asia at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai. This was our second collaboration with the conservation organisation. Over 60 students from various schools across the city participated in the workshop, which was inspired by Sarmaya’s extensive shadow puppetry collection.
The objective was to encourage students to use waste paper and other craft materials to design puppets based on their favourite fictional characters.
The participants were shown a Sarmaya x Pratham film on the Tholu Bommalaata puppetry tradition, highlighting the sustainable materials used by the puppeteers and artisans. Following the screening of the film, Sarmaya facilitators encouraged the children to create their own innovative puppets using upcycled and recycled material. The participants enjoyed working with their hands to make art from waste using just their imagination.