The spark that ignited my passion for play came from a simple yet powerful observation: when left to their own devices, children instinctively turn to play as a way of understanding their world. In those unstructured moments, they build relationships, navigate conflicts, and explore their surroundings with unfiltered curiosity and joy. I came to see that play is not a luxury—it is a necessity. It is how children learn best, how they make meaning, and how they prepare for life. Yet for millions of marginalised children in India, play is systematically denied—in schools, in homes, and in communities. This absence is not just a missed opportunity; it's a violation of their right to a full and healthy childhood. I created this innovation to change that. For over two decades, I’ve worked to reintroduce play into the lives of children who need it the most—so they may grow with confidence, resilience, empathy, and agency. Play is not just our method—it is our message: every child deserves to learn, live, and thrive through joy.
The Opentree Foundation (TOF) impacts 1,50,000 children and 7,500+ teachers from 500+ under-resourced schools in Maharashtra, India, through its flagship project Toybank. TOF’s Life Skills Play programmes are rooted in our Conscious Play® approach, and support teachers and schools to provide play-integrated learning experiences that are learner-focused, joyful, and build cognitive and behavioural skills.
1. Enhancing learning environments with contextually relevant, stimulating play materials.
2. Facilitating engaging play sessions focused on building essential life skills such as Critical Thinking, Communication, Problem Solving, Resilience and Decision-making.
3. Building teacher capacities to use learner-centric, engaging pedagogical approaches rooted in play and higher-order thinking.
In addition, The Opentree Foundation is also committed to advocating for the Right to Play, a critical need for embedding play in learning systems and building a community for play-based learning in India.
We began in 2004 as a small, volunteer-led initiative in Mumbai, distributing quality play materials to at-risk children. Over the years, this grassroots effort has evolved into a structured, impact-driven movement that now operates across 12 districts in Maharashtra. With strong partnerships with local governments and grassroots organisations, a trained team of 30+ outreach play workers, and research-backed Life Skills Play programmes, we are embedding play into the fabric of learning systems.
Each year, we provide free play material kits to over 500 partner schools—resources that have become central to classroom engagement. Our 7,500+ trained teachers, empowered through our Transformative Power of Play workshops, now act as ambassadors of play. Many have transformed their schools into vibrant, play-centric spaces and have catalysed shifts in their communities’ attitudes toward play.
As we expand into new districts we continue to support our existing schools, ensuring long-term impact. Yet, the systemic undervaluing of play remains a significant barrier. To shift this narrative, we are building a robust evidence base and amplifying success stories—positioning play not just as a pedagogical tool, but as a powerful driver of equity and learning. We engage actively in policy dialogues and collaborative platforms to advocate for play as a right and necessity in education.
Over the years, we’ve continuously adapted and strengthened our innovation to respond to on-ground needs and deepen our impact. A key enhancement has been the structured capacity-building of our outreach team. Our Outreach Playworkers now undergo intensive training four times a year, where they sharpen their understanding of play theory, facilitation techniques, and contextual application. These sessions ensure they remain agile, reflective, and responsive in the field.
In 2024, we launched the Play Summit—a first-of-its-kind national convening of educators, policymakers, researchers, and civil society leaders to centre play in learning discourse. The summit was met with overwhelming participation and enthusiasm, validating the growing interest in play-based education and helping us expand our community of advocates.
We also piloted our School Readiness Play Programme for early primary learners, recognising the urgent need to support foundational years with playful, age-appropriate learning experiences. This programme prepares young children—especially first-generation school-goers—for formal education by strengthening socio-emotional skills, motor coordination, and classroom engagement through play.
Through these additions and refinements, we continue to ensure our innovation remains relevant, scalable, and rooted in both practice and research.
Potential school or district partners can contact us, following which we conduct a thorough need assessment, sign a MoU and provide them with play material kits based on the students’ age, context and learning needs. There is also an orientation on using these materials, as well as our play-based life skills curriculum.
We encourage volunteers at our play sessions after background checks and a foundational training on play facilitation, child safety and protection. Our work updates can be seen on our website.
