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Anthill Creations

place India + 1 more

Making Play Accessible to All

Over 200 million marginalized children in India are deprived of a safe playspace which hinders their physical and cognitive development. Meanwhile, about 275 tons of tyres are discarded in India every day. Anthill Creations is a response to both these problems. In our mission to make play accessible to all children, we build upcycled playgrounds using tyres that enable holistic development.

HundrED 2025
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED Global Collection 2025

HundrED Global Collection 2024

Web presence

2017

Established

200K

Children

1

Countries
Target group
Students lower
Updated
July 2023
Play is an essential component of a child's learning and development. By providing children with safe and stimulating play spaces, they can foster creativity, problem-solving skills, and social interaction. We hope to see an increased emphasis on free play, play-based learning, as this approach can help children better understand complex concepts and develop a lifelong love for learning.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Over 60% of marginalized children in India lack access to safe play areas thus affecting their overall physical, cognitive & socio-emotional development. This accounts for 200 million children who are deprived of a childhood. Ecologically, about 275 tons of tyres are discarded in India every day of which only 7% are recycled. The remaining large percentage are either burnt or dumped in landfills.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

We build upcycled playgrounds using scrap tyres, metal drums and locally available materials that are designed to enable holistic development for underprivileged children. Our unique factors include
1. User Centric designs that cater to development of different skills while at play.
2. A sustainable approach by using upcycled materials like tyres, metal drums, and sourcing local labour and materials to reduce our carbon footprint and encourage a circular economy.
3. Community Engagement during construction to build ownership of the playscape. We also facilitate employee & volunteer engagement programs.
4. Scalable DIY designs that can be installed in 5-7 days across Indian geographies.
A playground enables the physical, social and emotional well-being of a child. Anthill playscapes have been directly attributed for greater classroom performance, improved attendance rates and reduced violent behavior, in testimonies given by teachers and stakeholders involved in our projects.

How has it been spreading?

Over the past 6 years, we have built over 375 playgrounds across 22 states in India, impacting over 200,000 children. In the next two years, we wish to build 500 playgrounds with the focus on aspirational districts and make play accessible to the most remote parts of India. Some of our achievements include -
1. 2023 - Children’s Champion Award 2023 in the sports Category by the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child’s Rights (India)
2. 2022 - FICCI Smart Urban Innovation Awards, Jury Mention under Smart Infrastructure Category
3. 2021 - Won Ramath Rath, a national competition organized by the city council of Vadodara (Gujarat, India) and Bernard van leer foundation to create “playground on wheels”
4. 2018 - Won Social Business Champ awarded by Nobel Laureate Prof Mohd Yunus

If I want to try it, what should I do?

We are happy to guide communities or individuals in setting up their own playground by providing them the required design and technical guidance. Our website holds our contact details and our team of play experts will help you plan out the project from design to execution or we can also undertake the project from end to end.

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

Play is such a critical component of learning, and the playgrounds seem to have increased both SEL as well as provided an incentive for more children to attend school. In addition, it's a great way to upcycle unwanted waste.

The fundamental psychological and developmental need for play and the global urgency for creative uses for our planet's resources make this project scalable to any context.

- Academy member
Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

Building a Safe and Stimulating Playground with An
Our playground is designed to encourage free play, foster creative thinking and social interactions. The first step would be to do a thorough quality check with the Anthill execution team to ensure the playground is built with the necessary safety measures and technical finesse.
Quality Checks in Building an Upcycled Playground
Quality check measures include ensuring buffed, rounded edges, covered bolts, drilled drainage holes to prevent water logging and ensuring a level ground and appropriate ground surface treatment.
Ensuring Safe Play: Guidelines for Supervision
We recommend teacher supervision during the use of the playground to ensure safe play practices between different age groups.
Let the Games Begin: Encouraging Free Play
It’s time to play with your own rules! Invite children from the community to come and play, and encourage them to use the playground safely and responsibly.

Spread of the innovation

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