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Wise Wall Project

place India

Documenting the rural wisdom of our villages and celebrate it through art murals.

The Wise Wall Project transforms villages into living classrooms, turning the walls of the same onto blackboards and canvases that uncover striking yet simple life learnings. These lessons are further designed and presented to the world through various mediums on our platform.
Shortlisted

Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Updated May 2020

2017

Established

1

Countries
All students
Target group

About the innovation

Our work

The Wise Wall Project aims to ignite a movement of transforming the long forgotten villages into open-air galleries, exhibiting human wisdom for anyone and everyone in the world to see and benefit from. We believe that knowledge is the most valuable currency there is, of stories-waiting to be told and waiting to unfold!

From tapping into the practical learning of the villagers laced with age-old philosophies, to developing empathy that encourages us to adapt the right attitude and take corrective actions to support our ancestral villages.

Journey

The story begins from Uttarakhand - the Devbhoomi i.e the land of Gods, which is also home to many quaint, picturesque, remote villages that still remain crippled with the lack of basic amenities i.e. roads, electricity, medical aid etc. And lately, these villages have been witnessing severe migration related issues, due to the same.

"The Wise Wall Project" epitomizes one's journey back to their roots, the place where they belong - that was once full of life and that once breathed the stories of the years gone by.

The project uses art as a medium to paint the resilient spirit of the villages, presenting an opportunity of open dialogue, heartfelt interaction, of exchange of ideas, mutual learning and shared wisdom-between people from all walks of life. It also enables the city folks to not just glance through but immerse themselves in the village life.

Explore

Screenshot 2020-05-22 12.13.06.png

Our first Wise-Wall project in Saur, a 600-year old abandoned village in rural Uttarakhand.

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Our second Wise-Wall project in Khati, a Kumaoni village en-route the majestic Pindari Glacier.

The Dawn

The Wise Wall Project focuses on the themes of inclusion, diversity, empathy and human connectedness. Working together fosters community development by bringing about change in mindsets and acts as a medium for understanding social issues. The project also provides an opportunity to forge strong bonds and meaningful connections-not only between the different communities in a village but also with the people or artists coming on-board to be a part of the project. And last but not the least, increased social visibility ensures garnering extensive support for a village to become a self-sustaining model, be it through tourism or other economic opportunities.

See it in action!

Media

Link
The Wise Wall Project paints walls of remote Uttarakhand villages to narrate stories and to bring change | Colour Quotient
https://www.asianpaints.com/colourquotient/showcase/the-wise-wall-project-paints-walls-of-remote-uttarakhand-villages-to-narrate-stories-and-to-bring-change/
Link
How Art Brought This Ghost Village In The Hills Back To Life With Stories
https://homegrown.co.in/article/801383/people-have-painted-this-indian-village-with-stories
Link
Painting life lessons on walls of the abandoned houses in this ghost village of Uttarakhand
https://www.hindustantimes.com/dehradun/painting-life-lessons-on-walls-of-the-abandoned-houses-in-this-ghost-village-of-uttarakhand/story-DkrGXRapsACJFfsiuDefgO.html
Photo
Wise Wall in Khati, Kumaon
Khati is a small picturesque village wrapped in rhododendrons and oak trees, in the Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand. Although remote, the village witnesses' a significant footfall of trekkers on their ways to Pindari, Kafni or Sunderdunga Glaciers. But despite its unparalleled beauty, rich history and culture— the village still has a hard time coping up with the lack of crucial basic amenities i.e. roads, healthcare, education, electricity— which are yet unavailable there.The project aimed at increasing the visibility of the village by transforming it into an art gallery on the foothills of a glacier, for travellers and the world to enthral themselves with the folklores of the region. As well as to raise awareness against the various community issues/stigmas surrounding rural life and seek solutions for the same.Khati has now become the second village after Saur, in recent history to have a documented database of life lessons from an entire community. And as wishful as it gets, the village has now been transformed into a living storybook that tells the tales of Khati, like never before.
Photo
Wise Wall in Saur, Garhwal
The first Wise Wall project took place in Saur, a 600-year-old remote village. The village of Saur had been labelled as a ghost village due to excessive migration. It is one among 1,053 more Uttarakhand villages that have little or no inhabitants anymore and are therefore called ghost villages. Today, Saur is the first village in recent history to have a documented database of life lessons from an entire community exhibited on the exterior of every house wall including the abandoned ones. Its residents are slowly migrating back. The village, once labelled as abandoned, is now identified as a tourist destination!