Bhargavi Vardhan’s Prakriti Ecoplay is an alternative learning centre for kids which works with practical and sustainable learning methods to nurture children’s creativity. Prakriti Ecoplay’s art workshops and events also cater to adults enabling them to embrace their inner child. Prakriti Ecoplay is located in Alwal.
Living has become something which needs to be taught. It’s no more intuitive, it’s no more natural. In the quest of bringing back natural living and natural learning, Prakriti Ecoplay has evolved in many different ways. It is a place where a child can feel like a child and act like a child and an adult can be in a nonjudgmental space. Ecoplay is a place of joy and natural being.
If the work at Ecoplay is categorised into a few areas, which we actually do not separate because of the intertwined nature of their being, the first one will be food.
You are what you eat. And at Ecoplay the kids eat everything healthy throughout the day. Fruits! vegetables! Baking! Traditional foods and a variety of cuisines to understand the diversity of our country. We all sit together and eat by ourselves. Any age, independent eating and judging our own hunger is a priority. The kids have the freedom and love to demand food at any time. We believe the number of their meals should be driven by their hunger and intuition more than anything else. Age appropriate involvement in cooking and baking is done with kids of all ages from shelling peas to baking cookies independently.
Second important part is play! They play anything and everything they want at any time. We don’t stop them unless there is a safety issue. They evolved different ways to play with the same things and also their socialising is not just their choice but they have learnt to adjust with anyone. Age is not a barrier at all. We have seen friendships across different ages through play and many of them have turned into a bond where they are learning from each other. Most times we let boredom prevail so that new friendships and creative play can be discovered and innovated.
The next part of Ecoplay is responsible behaviour. We do not over protect the child so that they learn the importance of self care and also empathy. We have slowly realised that they normally do not need adult intervention in many matters pertaining to them. They are very self reliant beings who can live on their own.
Nature interactions are another important part of Ecoplay. We try to keep them as near to nature as possible. We play outdoors, eat natural food, and paint with natural colours. Go to picnics outdoors often! And live with natural things as much as possible.
The next part is interesting because it is minimalism. Kids and minimalism don’t normally go together according to the new age parents. But we try not to give them too many things. We try to adjust to what is available in the surroundings. We are surprised with the results. The kids need fewer things than us adults. We believe that creative brains can create in minimalistic ways. We try to reuse paper and also use paper which is being discarded by a printer. It is interesting to note here that new toys are secondary to toyless play and pretend play.
The most important part is the attention and love which they get from everywhere in the surroundings. From the teachers, friends, aunties (caretakers), parents. They know they are loved and an important part of Ecoplay.