Challenge: During Uttarayan, Gujarat’s kite-flying festival, a friendly rivalry ensues. Which involves cutting each other’s kite with razor-sharp threads called ‘Manjas’. These ‘Manjas’ entangle, maim and even kill many endangered birds that migrate to Gujarat. We had to find a simple, low-budget yet effective solution to save these birds from getting injured and killed.

Strategy: During Uttarayan (Gujarat's Kite flying festival), a friendly rivalry ensues, which involves cutting kites and collecting them as a souvenir of triumph. We strategically used the kites itself to pass on the message to the kite flyers.

Outcome: The number of injuries dropped by over 68% as compared to 2014.

We designed kites that looked like the endangered birds and flew them with soft threads. Once our kites were cut, kite enthusiasts read the message, which asked them to avoid flying kites during the hours when birds are most active: 5 to 7

mornings and evenings. The kites were flown right through the 5-day Uttarayan festival ensuring more and more kite enthusiasts read our message.

The number of injuries dropped by over 68% as compared to 2014. The activity was covered by radio channels who also spoke about how birds get injured. School and college students took part in rallies all over the city to build awareness.

Many college students even took a pledge to avoid flying kites during the hours when birds are most active in the sky, specifically, 5 to 7 mornings and evenings.