Pune To Celebrate Earth Day With 4-Day Showcase On Clay Reuse, Eco-Art and Soil Conservation

On the occasion of Earth Day, eCoexist Foundation, the Punaravartan Collective and Monalisa Kalagram are hosting a unique event from 19 to 22 April 2025, at Koregaon Park Pune. 

This event showcases the successes of the Punaravartan campaign to collect and reuse clay after the immersion of clay idols during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. This unique campaign entered its fifth year in 2024 and in the past few years has collected over 100 tonnes of clay for reuse in the cities of Pune, Pimpri and Thane. The clay was returned free of cost to artisans and architects who have been experimenting with it. At the RebEarth event they will showcase the work along with other eco friendly materials that can be used to ensure that the Ganesh festival is completely zero waste.

Clay is a non-renewable resource and as we celebrate Earth day we need to remind ourselves that top soil, agricultural soil and minerals such as clay are limited in availability and will run out if we do not use them cautiously. The Punaravartan campaign promotes the concept of a circular economy that encourages multiple cycles of use and reuse before the material loses its value and functionality.

Visit Monalisa Kalagram to interact with and learn from the architects and murtikars

19 April 4 pm : Hear from architects as they share experiments in green building using the recycled clay.

20th April all day: See the work of master craftsmen from Sindhudurg, Satara, Kolhapur and Pune as they bring their stunning works of Ganesh sculpture to exhibit.

21st April : Attend workshops on natural pigments and paints and watch the artisans paint their own murtis. These will be conducted by Sri Suresh Pathak from Nagpur and Smt Surekha Agarkar from Pune. 

22nd April: Attend the launch of the Punaravartan web application in collaboration with PMC care app.

Learn about the Punaravartan campaign and register yourself on the web application to commit to donating your clay. VISIT https://www.punaravartan.org

On all 4 days our volunteers will be standing at over 20 public gardens and metro stations to share with you the importance of soil conservation and to help you register for Punaravartan. 

This event is brought to you by:

1. The eCoexist Foundation
2. Monalisa Kalagram
3. Pune Municipal Corporation
4. Parimal and Pramod Chaudhari Foundation
5. Poornam Ecovision Foundation
6. Pune Maha Metro
7. Team Swachh Kalyaninagar
8. Bavdhan Citizens Forum
9. Pune Climate Warriors
10. Swach cooperative 
11. Srimant Bhau Rangari Ganpati Trust

For further queries please contact:

• Manisha Sheth, Director Punaravartan : 9850084383
• Lisa Pingale, Director Monalisa Kalagram: 9822390450
• Mangesh Dighe, Environment Department , PMC: 9689931771
• Dr Rajesh Manerikar, Director , Poornam Ecovision: 7588065205—