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PRATHAM
Can sixth graders lead India’s plastic revolution using the design process as their superpower?
Youth innovation
Sustainability Education
Design Thinking
2025
Approach
A partnership with Pratham to equip rural middle-schoolers with Design Thinking skills enabling them to tackle real-world plastic waste problems in their villages.
- Anchored in findings from the research conducted by Pratham across 700 villages (from 70 districts)
- Designed and delivered a 2-day residential Design Thinking Camps which were experiential and solution focussed
Rolled out across 16 camps, 500 students, and 11 locations in 4 states (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh)
Key Strategic Lever
Output
- 60+ prototypes created, tackling problems like:
- Lack of home waste segregation
- Overflowing community bins
- Animals eating plastic
- Plastic burning in stoves
- Lack of home waste segregation
- Ideas ranged from modular compact bins, gamified segregation tools, and community incentive models, to solar lamp bags and plastic-powered greenhouses
- Tested with community members and judged by experts
- Students became plastic-literacy ambassadors in their schools and villages
- Schools reported increased awareness and ownership of plastic waste challenges
A few simple ideas that were borne out of our Behaviour Design Codex
A deeper understanding of the USER
To redesign the SYSTEM
THE SIMPLE IDEA
A deeper understanding of the USER
To redesign the SYSTEM
The Simple Idea
A deeper understanding of the USER
To redesign the SYSTEM
The Simple Idea
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