With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

With its 283 playgrounds built in 18 states of India, Anthill Creations has given happiness to more than 200.000 children.

With its 283 children's parks built in 18 states of India, the Anthill Creations organization has brought happiness and a healthier life to more than 200.000 children, and within 5 years it plans to impact over 5 million children.





Indian architect Pooja Rai never imagined that that experience as a volunteer at a school for disadvantaged children during her final year of graduate school would change her life and improve that of her country's children forever. Maybe it was that broken metal tube that served as a sword or seeing them play badminton with slippers instead of rackets, however she was she felt she had to do something to reclaim those children's right to play freely and safely.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Together with his friends, now co-founders of Anthill Creations, the non-profit organization he runs, they built their first playground at the same school. There were no funds, but there was so much hope, so many ideas, a great desire to do things and so much “garbage” that although for some it represents a waste, for many it is a source of raw material. Thus, tires and local waste were transformed into a beautiful outdoor play area, the first of many for all of India.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

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Waste upcycling, child's play

After that first sustainable children's park, they started getting requests from different parts of India asking to build similar parks in their communities. Since then Anthill Creations has never stopped, giving children play spaces designed to measure, based on local needs and built together with the community.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Their actions go beyond the well-being of society, they are also concerned with environmental sustainability and the impact of their choices, for this they use recycled and locally available materials such as disused tires, drums, and industrial waste, trying to minimize the costs. For each playground they use about 80 tires.



With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Worldwide, more than 981 million tires are thrown away every year and even less than 7% are recycled. So on the one hand there is the problem of disposing of these tires while on the other there is a huge need for playgrounds for children ”, explains the Indian architect.

The happiness of over 200.000 boys and girls

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Playing is not a luxury, it is a fundamental right. In recent years, spaces for socialization and free play are disappearing, especially in the poorest areas of India. Anthill Creations playgrounds transform degraded and forgotten spaces into play areas accessible to all, contributing to the physical, social and emotional well-being of children and generating a positive impact on both a social and environmental level.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

To date, we have impacted more than 200.000 children by building over 280 playgrounds in 18 states of India. 41% of these playgrounds are located in rural India and 59% in urban areas. In the testimonies provided by teachers and stakeholders involved in our projects, our playgrounds have directly contributed to greater classroom performance, better classroom attendance rates and a reduction in violent behavior ”, Rai enthuses us.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Donations, contributions from the private sector, the precious help of volunteers and the active participation of citizens, make it possible to finance and implement these projects in public schools, slums and urban areas, redeveloping them and donating community parks and playgrounds to the whole country.

Resilience in the time of the coronavirus

At the start of COVID-19, with a nationwide lockdown in place, the team had to stop construction operations of the playgrounds. Due to the necessary social distancing, the children were unable to play in the parks and had to stay at home. With schools still closed, families affected by a fragile economy and a health system in crisis, the rights and safety of children, unfortunately, are the last thought for India.



Posted by Anthill Creations on Monday, March 29, 2021

Even in this situation Anthill Creations has reinvented itself by putting the well-being of children in the foreground. To do this, they wondered how they could bring quality entertainment into homes? So, while waiting for us to return to school and parks to play freely, they organized themselves by creating the “Play in a Box”, boxes with activities to learn by playing.

An innovative solution with multiple benefits

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

Pooja and his entire team bring happiness not only to children, but also to adults, helping to build a healthier and happier society. They also raise awareness of the circularity of waste, promote recycling, encourage imagination and foment a sense of community, all this by offering a space dedicated to free play and sustainability.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

When Pooja saw those children playing badminton with slippers instead of rackets, she could just stand there looking sorry and then forget about it the next day, luckily for us and for the planet she didn't.

With tires and industrial waste, this Indian architect has built and donated more than 280 playgrounds across the country

©Anthill Creations

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