It is a busy week for 16-year-old Krisha Toshniwal. Ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, she is putting up posters at temples in Kilpauk (where she resides) announcing sale of eco-friendly Ganeshas. On social media, she posts about environment-conscious celebration of the festival. Orders have started coming in, between studies this Class XI student of KC High keeps track of the orders on an Excel sheet.
This initiative by Krisha is entering its fifth year, having been started in 2020. Ganesha idols are sourced from an artisan group in Salem who make it with natural clay, organic compost and implant it with a choice of seeds. The Ganesha idol is placed in a recyclable grow bag that can be used for immersion and also to grow a plant.
Krisha’s annual project meets two objectives: promoting local artisans and pushing for sustainable alternatives to non-biodegradable materials used during this festival.
On what led her to start the initiative, Krisha says: “I was concerned about the way we were polluting the seas during immersion.”
In the first year, friends and family supported her idea by buying clay Ganeshas from her. “I sold 25-30 during the first year. This year, I am hoping to sell more than 70,” says Krisha, adding that the idols are stored in the garage at her house and she personally dispatches them to different places. Last year, they were even shipped to Dubai.
Does she make a profit selling these eco-friendly idols? Last year, she gave all the profit to Mohan Foundation, a non-profit working for organ donation. “This year too it will be for a cause,” she says.
Krisha says more than the sales, accounts by customers about how the seed has grown into a bean plant or pictures about the idol being immersed in the grow bag itself are heart-warming.
The idols come in multiple sizes and are priced from ₹800 onwards. For details, WhatsApp Krisha at 9840082844
Published – August 23, 2025 09:48 am IST
