Raksha Bandhan 2021: From eco-friendly material to tree seeds, Rakhis are all about environment this year

Raksha Bandhan 2021: With Raksha Bandhan just around the corner, eco-friendly Rakhis seem to be the raging innovation this year. Usually, after the conclusion of the festival of Raksha Bandhan, the disposal of Rakhis that are made from different materials including non-eco friendly materials becomes a problem. However, for the past few years, the raising consciousness towards the environment has led to small groups of people making efforts on their parts to make Rakhis that would not harm nature. Accordingly, a self-help group in Odisha called ORMAS has taken up selling eco-friendly Rakhis this year.

The Rakhis have been made with terracotta and sabai grass among other organic materials, much like how ORMAS did last year. In 2020, the group saw a great response to its Rakhis, and so this year also, it went ahead with its innovation while keeping in mind all the COVID-19 precautionary measures. The group has set up 18 stalls in the state, and is selling the Rakhis within a price range of Rs 20 and Rs 50.

But ORMAS is not the only place where innovation is taking place.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has joined hands with the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and launched the Vruksha Bandhan Project in Aurangabad. Under this project, 1,100 women from tribal communities are making Rakhis using the seeds of indigenous trees at the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Centre of Excellence.

Sharing the initiative on Twitter, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that the project was a unique contribution to increase the forest cover, which would as a result help in combating climate change.

The Rakhis made under this project have a seed of a tree placed on the Rakhi, instead of a traditional sequin or bead, which means that once Raksha Bandhan is over, the Rakhi can be buried and watered to eventually become a tree.