We started the Independence Day Daawat in 2015 with a simple belief that food has the power to bring people together and create meaningful change. We wanted to celebrate Independence Day in a way that felt true to who we are: by sharing India's incredible culinary heritage around a common table, while giving back to the communities around us. 

So, we opened our doors, served a regional feast on banana leaves, invited everyone to pay what they wished, and pledged every rupee raised towards a cause that mattered. What began as a small idea has since become one of our most cherished traditions.

For the past two years, your generosity has helped us work towards restoring biodiversity and creating greener public spaces, like The Nest, Malabar Hill with nature: re. See the difference you made.

This year, we're taking the next step.

Mumbai has set itself an ambitious goal of increasing its green cover to 40% by 2030. But getting there isn't simply about planting more trees. It's about understanding how greener neighbourhoods can make our city cooler, healthier and more enjoyable to live in, while recognising the many people and organisations already working quietly towards that future.

In collaboration with WRI India, our knowledge and technical partner, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) and nature: re an initiative by RPG Foundation, our ecosystem partners, we're building Make Mumbai Green Again into a platform that helps Mumbaikars understand the city's greening journey, discover the inspiring work already happening around them, and find meaningful ways to participate.

The ambition is simple: make greening Mumbai easier to understand, easier to experience and easier to be part of. 

And how do we do that?

INSPIRE
First, make the work visible.

Through stories, social media and public communication, we'll unpack Mumbai's greening goals, introduce the people already doing the work, and make ideas around urban greening easier for all of us to understand.

EXPERIENCE
Then, see it for yourself.

The journey begins at the Independence Day Daawat, alongside an immersive exhibition at Veronica's, Lower Parel (next to The Bombay Canteen) that brings Mumbai's greening story to life through projects, people, research and ideas from across the city.

PARTICIPATE
Turn curiosity into action.

Through Make Mumbai Green Again Series, we'll bring together ecosystem partners (like RPG Foundation), practitioners, community leaders and curious Mumbaikars for talks, walks, workshops and experiences that show us how everyone, including you can play a part.

GROW
And turn participation into change on the ground.

The community and conversations will continue towards Mumbai Climate Week and beyond, while funds raised through the Daawat will also help support greening projects already underway across the city.

This year, that includes work at Lallubhai Compound, one of Mumbai's heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods, where an existing open space is being transformed into a cooler, greener and more usable community space.

Every rupee raised through this year's Independence Day Daawat will help us take our greening initiative from conversation to participation and action.

Donations will be accepted by Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), one of our ecosystem partners, and will support the Make Mumbai Green Again platform as well as on-ground greening work, including the transformation of open space at Lallubhai Compound.

100% of proceeds from the Independence Day Daawat will go towards the cause.

DONATE HERE

*80G certificate will be provided

About WRI - India

WRI India, an independent knowledge organisation registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. As an independent knowledge organisation, we leverage our data and expertise to catalyze change across systems like food, land and water, energy, and cities. As the technical and knowledge partner for Make Mumbai Green Again, WRI India brings together the research, science and planning that underpin Mumbai's greening vision, while helping translate it into experiences and actions that citizens can understand and participate in.  

About RPG Foundation

Making Mumbai greener isn't the work of one organisation.

Through Make Mumbai Green Again, we hope to bring together organisations, practitioners, researchers, community groups and citizens already contributing to Mumbai's greening journey, creating more opportunities for their work to be seen, understood and supported.

Since the past two years, we've been working with Nature:re, an RPG Foundation initiative to Make Mumbai Green Again by transforming Captain Namdev Lotankar Park, Mahalaxmi, into a lush, thriving urban green pocket and building The Nest in Malabar Hill. They will continue being a part of this journey as our ecosystem partner, as we continue working towards making Mumbai 40% greener.

About YUVA

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) is a non-profit working with marginalised people, over the past four decades, to support their leadership and empowerment.

To respond to the growing climate crisis, YUVA has been co-designing ecological interventions in informal settlements and institutions, alongside grassroots efforts to support people's dignity and resilience.

In the last few years, 10+ micro-greening sites have grown, offering much relief in high-density areas, enhancing the local environment, and sustained with people's ownership. Recognising this work as a leading model of implementing nature based solutions, the India Forum for Nature Based Solutions also awarded YUVA in 2024.