BENGALURU : Focusing on preserving elements of nature and celebrating them through music and art has been the prime agenda of Echoes of Earth festival, which is back with its fourth edition on December 7 and 8. Touted as the country’s greenest music festival, this year’s edition focuses on taking sustainability up a notch with complete omission of plastic and moving towards more recycled and biodegradable material. “Our primary goal was to make it a zero-waste festival and production of 80 per cent of the festival is done using recycled material, which includes art installations, stage design and flea markets. Everything is made using scrap from junkyards,” Roshan Netalkar, festival director, says.
Netalkar emphasised on other big areas of focus in the festival like water and energy. A complete provision of RO filters has been implemented for crowds to make use of and have further encouraged them to carry their own reusable bottles to ensure a plastic-free environment. Speaking on the energy aspect, Netalkar says, “Around 20 per cent of the festival runs on solar power along with the Big Tree stage, which runs completely on it.”
The current theme, Sanctuary, highlights endangered animals in the country and around the world through art installations made of junk, which aims to celebrate their existence. Besides this, their theme National Geographic will have a dedicated zone to educate people on the current crisis of endangered species along with photo exhibits and installations. Apart from the Big Tree stage, the festival will showcase three other wildlife-themed stages – Hangul Stage inspired by the Kashmir Stag, Tiger stage to celebrate the rise in the animal’s census, and the Vulture stage which signifies near-extinction of Indian vultures.
The festival has seen a dedicated set of volunteers over their previous editions who have done their bit to contribute towards a sustainable environment. This year, students from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology have been producing sustainable material as a part of their curriculum projects.
Arshia Suzzane Jacob, a third-year design student from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, has spent close to a month for the festival project, she says, “The institute does multiple sessions on sustainability and this festival has been ideal for us to volunteer. The installations we have worked for include the front entrance and lettering, all of which has been made using waste-materials. This also lets us bring our theoretical learnings to life.”