Student: Abhijit Paul
Institute: National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India
Programme: Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Design, Toy & Game Design Discipline, Industrial Design

The project started with the study of toy crafts of India. There are many very good traditional turned-wood craftsmen all over India, but they are not able to carry on with the work due to shortage of wood and competition from plastic toys. Therefore, the approach for the project was to use bamboo as a substitute for wood in order to come up with a range of non-toxic, eco-friendly, culturally sensitive bamboo toys for children using traditional craft processes. Promoting sustainable design and helping to rejuvenate traditional craft are two of the important facets of the project.

Different varieties of bamboo were studied and the material was explored extensively to find out the possibility of its being used to make toys through turned-wood process. A range of toys for the pre-school kids were designed to help in the development of cognitive and sensory-motor abilities during this critical stage of growth. Multi-coloured bamboo fish can be played with in a variety of ways. They can be strung together, matched in terms of colour, stacked one on top of other or used for role play. This toy also demonstrates the abilities of traditionally craftsmen to successfully batch produce the toys and achieve a sustainable means of livelihood.

For more information, please contact:

Samir More
Communications and Media
Relations Officer
National Institute of Design
Paldi, Ahmedabad.
t: +91 79 26623692
f: +91 79 26621167
e:
w: www.nid.edu