Mumbai:
Always wanted to do your bit for the environment but didn't know how? Wanted to have an eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi but the information on how-to was unavailable? Well, don't fret, because all that information is now just a click away.
A group of six youngsters from Navi Mumbai from 'Together we Initiate a Green Globe' and Recyclekaro, a social enterprise, have created a website called www.greenbappa.com to help people celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in a more eco-friendly way.
The website, created by former Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work students, provides every tidbit of information from making eco-friendly idols to decorations.
Previously, conducting workshops and exhibitions educating school children on an environment-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi, the six youngsters realised that they needed a forum to reach millions to spread their message.
Hence, they came up with greenbappa.com, which tells people how to make idols at home, the impact that Plaster of Paris has when immersed in water and where to buy material for eco-friendly idols.
Chaitra Yadavar (24), one of the co-founders of greenbappa.com, said, "In 2009, we had organised Eco-friendly Ganeshotsav consisting of activities in Airoli and Vashi.
In 2010, we built a similar campaign called 'Ganesha goes Green' wherein we conducted awareness drives and workshops in Mulund, Vashi and Airoli. Seeing the rise in the number of people on social networking sites, we decided to create a website for the same."
Ruta Satam, one of the founders of the website, said, "We took three months to ideate, write and edit information for the website. The structure of the website and the articles is such that readers can find all the information easily."
When asked about the USP of the site, Swagata Yadavar, said, "On the website, we have provided people with information on eco-friendly decorations. These decorations can be easily made by anyone in a day's time and are not expensive like thermocol decorations, which don't even decompose."