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1. Description of Our Community
Panipat is a small, historic city in the state of Haryana in North India. Situated on the banks of one of the most important rivers in India - Yamuna, Panipat lies about 90km away from Delhi, the capital of India. Panipat is largely known for the three historic battles that took place there, which significantly shaped the course of Indian history. It is also called the “City of Weavers”, paying homage to its vibrant and massive textile industries. This region has a hot, semi-arid climate during the summers and cold dry winters with monsoon rain from July to September. It is also known for its fertile, Gangetic alluvial soil. Our school lies around 122km away from Panipat.
2. Summary of Our Project
The early 2000s saw a rise in fast fashion, generating large volumes of textile waste that ended up in landfills. Almost every piece of clothing was made out of synthetic, non- biodegradable materials such as polyester and rayon. When such textiles end up in landfills, they either pollute ecosystems such as rivers, or pollute the air with toxic gases when burnt. To combat these negative effects, we need to give a new life to these discarded textiles. Panipat, already equipped with robust weaving machineries due its already existing extravagant textile industry, began giving a new life to old clothes discarded all over the world. For this reason, it is also know as the “Cast-off Capital” of the world. Through this project, we aspire to spread awareness on the need to recycle textiles, and to encourage the world to invest in Panipat’s sustainable textile industry, or learn from it.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
Our school’s Annual Day Program “Srijan: Evoking your Ikigai” was a grand success, but it took up a major chunk of our time during the initial stages of our project. Two months had flown by in preparation for it. As we reached mid-December, our project faced another hurdle. Pollution levels had sky-rocketed, forcing schools to shut down for several days. Fortunately, we were able to somewhat overcome this hurdle by having online meetings, though true efficiency was not reached due to the lack of physical interactions among students and with teachers. Finally, the project started taking shape in January, but faced another halt in February as our Final Examinations commenced. Our team of 25 students had several meetings, the significance of our topic was briefly discussed, teams were divided on the basis of SWOT analysis, every person’s tasks was explained, and everyone’s diverse opinions were taken into. It was definitely not an easy task, but it would help the younger children immensely when they participated in projects and competitions of their own, so in our eyes it was worth it. Another huge problem we had to overcome was the transportation facilities. Panipat is 3 hours drive from our school, so we coordinated with students, teachers, parents, and the school. Further, there were 5 leaders of different teams initially, which came down to 3 leaders, putting more responsibilities and workload on each person. We got our own devices to school to work on the project, but the process was greatly slowed down due to the network issues. Time constraints was a major problem as students could not afford to miss classes. But through the trying and difficult times, we had an amazing time working on this project and presenting what we are capable of.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Through our intensive research we understood the importance of recycling textiles in achieving a sustainable future, and realized the significant role that Panipat plays in reaching this goal. The field visits to textile recycling industries gave us a deep understanding on the various processes involved in turning discarded clothes into a plethora of beautiful products, and a deeper appreciation for the nature’s warriors for undertaking such a noble task of protecting Mother Earth. Once our understanding got better, we performed certain social experiments with the public which gave us a broader perspective on marketability of recycled products. We organized a collection drive in our school and nearby societies, which brought the community together towards achieving our goal and helped spread awareness on the importance of recycling textiles. Our constant meetings with the teachers, students, parents, and the community helped us to achieve comprehensive knowledge.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
1. Economics - Assessing supply–demand patterns to ensure smooth business operations without the risk of scarcity. 2. Psychology - Analyzing the perspectives and attitudes of sellers, wholesalers, buyers, and consumers. 3. Business Studies - Analyzing the market potential of recycled products and the choices made by producers and sellers. 4. Chemistry - Studying the chemical contents of dyes and water to verify that recycled textiles remain non-toxic. 5. History - Tracing the origins of sustainable weaving in Panipat and the historical events that influenced its growth. 6. Biology - Exploring the processing cycle of natural fibers and their influence on soil and groundwater as a step toward preventing environmental degradation. 7. Fine Arts - Studying evolving trends to sustain consumer interest by keeping designs and patterns contemporary.
Besides the textbook knowledge applied, we gained immeasurable amount of knowledge and skills in a wide range of fields such as photography, cyber-skills, making gantt-charts, root-cause analysis, public-speaking, creative writing, problem-solving, etc.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
In the 21st century everything has been as convenient as a blink of an eye, and our project exploited all the opportunities available in order to create a project with a last impact. All our technological tools are listed in a systematic order in the ‘Tech Used’ tab under ‘About’ on our website. Our school helped us multiple times in order for us to conveniently commence our project. 1. Our school consists of 20 computer systems through which we collected the survey data of students, parents, teachers and workers. 2. We captured all our visuals using our own phones. 3. Our teams used MacOS, Windows, iOS and Android devices for research and web designing. The Tana Bana website was made on Sqaurespace where we also bought our domain and hosting rights; for communication we used WhatsApp, Google Mail, Facetime, iMessages and Google Meet; to give our project its social media presence we used Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X; for graphics our team used Canva, Pixelmator Pro, Finalcut Pro, Photoshop, Insta Edits, iMovies and Freeform; collection of data was done on google forms. 4. The research of our project was done through physical sources and search engines like Google Chrome, Safari, Edge. 5. For navigations we used Google Maps, Apple Maps. 6. We used Microsoft Word, Google Keep, Pages (Apple), Apple Notes for documentation. 7. The coding on the website was done using CSS, Python and HTML. 8. For bibliography the app that helped us out was Mendeley. 9. Our school Wi-Fi speed 99.3 Mbps (downloads) and 73.4 Mbps (uploads).
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
From day one, our team ensured that the voices of the workers involved in the textile recycling business was heard so that their efforts, concern, nobility, and goodwill was known by the community. During our field visit, our communication team took a number of interviews of workers involved in various departments such as cutting, weaving, dyeing, etc. to collect data that was extensive and informative. We conducted online surveys with the community as well as with the working staff of our school regarding the general public’s view on recycled products. Through the various collection drives organised by our team, boxes were placed in our school and nearby societies, where people could drop-off their old clothes which were collected and sent to a textile recycling centre. This enabled the community to contribute to textile recycling and in lessening the burden on nature. A poster was sent digitally to inform the public of the collection drive. Banners containing information on the project and our aims were pasted on our school building and busses to ensure awareness spreads to other circles of community as well. The young minds today make the future of tomorrow. Students of junior school were given an entertaining and engaging session on sustainability which included a fun colouring session. The topic, aims, and everything we have done so far was briefed to the parents of our school students. Through our social media pages on various platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube, and Facebook, we acted as ambassadors of Tana Bana by spreading awareness on our project through entertaining and informative content. To start a fire, we need to ignite a spark. We hope to be the spark that ignites the fire of sustainability, starting with our community.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
Human progress has always been rooted in the strength of community. The Tana Bana of humanity. Like the strength a fabric derives from the criss-cross patterns its component threads make, the interconnectedness between the members of a community firmly holds them together and makes them resistant to wear and tear. Students, teachers, parents, and our nearby society have acquired great knowledge on the art of recycling textile through the initiatives taken by our team during this project. The various collection drives organised in our school and societies has enabled our community to understand that there is an easy option for discarding their old clothes without harming the environment and also helped them contribute to the noble cause of recycling textiles to protect mature. The students and teachers of our school have taken a pledge to avoid fast fashion, discard textiles mindfully, recycle textiles, and to give environment a future that is healthier than the one we received. The societies surrounding our school building as well as the communities through which our school busses have travelled through over the last three months have seen the posters and gained insight into the world of sustainability and what we are doing to achieve it. Our social media pages on various platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube, and Facebook have been spreading awareness and educating the public on sustainability through recycling textiles through entertaining and engaging content that is palatable for the youth. Through the surveys and social experiments conducted, the community realized that India was leading in the game of sustainability through recycling textiles, and were more than willing to shift to and purchase recycled products to lessen the burden on our environment. It has been and will be cooperation, contribution, shared knowledge, mutual support, and unity that will help humanity grow.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” - Mahatma Gandhi A community showcases its true strength not merely through shared spaces or common identity, but through its willingness to serve one another. Our nearby community and the whole strength of the school, from students and teachers, to the helpers and parents, everyone played a crucial role in the success of the project. Despite a number of challenges and hurdles, the students and teachers gave their all during every stage of the project. Be it researching, organising, public-speaking, or any other process involved in the completion of this project. The helpers of our school were kind enough to allocate some time out of their busy schedules to answer a few survey questions and take pictures. Their contribution truly made a great impact on the data collection stage of our project. The parents of Gyaananda supported their children and the school every step of the way, from contributing clothes to various collection drives organised to attending sessions on sustainability through recycling textiles given by our team. An enthusiastic appreciation to each and every member from our nearby societies for taking time to contribute to a noble cause just because they could. Members from our community participated energetically in a number of collection drives by contributing tonnes and tonnes of old clothes and shared the knowledge they received from the digital posters published by us to an even wider circle of community. Each part of our society contributed significantly to this project in every step of the way. And through this social-spirit, they showed more unity than ever.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 8828)
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