New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Popularising nature-based solutions to make Holi and other festivals vibrant, joyful, and eco-friendly, the Environment Ministry conducted workshops across Eco-Clubs to promote safe and sustainable celebrations aligned with Mission LiFE, an official said on Tuesday.
Through hands-on sessions, students are learning to prepare natural colours using edible and leafy vegetables. Green is derived from fresh leafy greens, red from beetroot, yellow from turmeric (haldi), and orange from Gogupuvvu (Palash), said an official statement issued by the Ministry.
Under the Environment Education Programme (EEP) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, eco-friendly Holi colour preparation workshops are being conducted across the country, it said.
These colours are completely free from chemicals and harmful substances, ensuring celebrations that are safe for both people and the environment, said the statement.
The campaign is gaining strong momentum across Eco-Clubs, engaging students in practical learning and encouraging them to adopt sustainable festive practices, it said.
By replacing synthetic colours with biodegradable alternatives, young learners are becoming ambassadors of environmentally responsible celebrations within their communities, it said.
This initiative highlights how simple, nature-based solutions can make festivals vibrant, joyful, and eco-friendly, said the statement.
Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) is a global, India-led public movement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to trigger individual and collective action for environmental protection.
It aims to transform people into "Pro-Planet People" (P3) by adopting sustainable daily habits—such as reducing waste, saving energy, and avoiding single-use plastics—to replace a "use-and-dispose" economy with a circular one.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, eco-friendly colours are a big hit in the markets, and their demand is growing rapidly in multiple cities across the state.
The city’s Adamane family is one of the driving forces behind the switch from traditional to eco-friendly colours because their family has been making organic colours for the past three generations.
This year, they have also readied their stock of organic colours and are encouraging people to use them for a natural advantage over artificial colours.
Roshan Adamane, sharing an update about the family's ancestral legacy, told IANS, "Our grandfather started this business. We use arrowroot (arrowroot powder) as the main ingredient. We mix it with food-grade, safe colours. No harmful chemicals are added. The mixture is prepared by mixing water and colour, then dried in the sun, filtered through a machine, and then packaged. This produces a total of 7-8 attractive colours, including green, blue, red, and yellow."
Roshan further said, "Our goal isn't just business and earning money. We want to help people celebrate Holi without harm, with safe and environmentally friendly colours."
This gulal is supplied to Vidarbha, as well as other parts of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, he informed.
--IANS
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