Decoration at Bengaluru's Primrose Mar Thoma Church
Photo: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: A 25-foot-tall eco-friendly Christmas tree made from old and torn sarees has been installed at the Primrose Mar Thoma Church this festive season, continuing the congregation’s long-standing commitment to sustainable celebrations.
Created by members of the church choir, the tree uses discarded sarees collected from church members and fixed onto metal wire frames of varying sizes.
The initiative aims to spread awareness that festive decorations can be made using locally available eco-friendly materials that are often lying unused in our homes.
What began in the year 2008 as an experiment at Primrose Mar Thoma Church has now become a tradition. In 2008, plastic bottles and old tyres were used in preparing the Christmas Tree. In subsequent years, video tapes and plastic bags (2009), dry vegetables and grasses (2010), jacquard loom cards (2011), newspapers (2012), used plastic covers (2013), soft drink bottles (2014), and cloth scraps from tailors and garment units (2015) were used for the same.
In recent years, the church used straw and coconut shells (2017), shredded paper from a printing unit (2019), reject materials from a furniture edge-banding tape manufacturer (2020), aluminium foil, carton boxes and newspapers (2021), and bamboo strips (2022).
On some occasions, the church also collaborated with industries who donated waste materials to be used in the Christmas Tree to reinforce the message of responsible consumption and recycling.
Church has extended its invitation to the general public to experience the decorations which will further propagate the message of how creativity and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand during festive celebrations.