Originally reported and written in January 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

Toy Trunk, a Pune-based startup founded by architects Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude and Ajay Vaidya, is changing the way we understand toys for children between the ages of 0 and 8.

Not only are their handmade toys designed “following extensive research on motor and cognitive development of children”, but they also work with traditional artisans to make them with non-toxic and sustainable eco-friendly materials like wood and lac.

“The experiences children have in early childhood shape their brain and the capacity to learn, get along with others, and respond to daily stresses and challenges. Toy Trunk has been built with a vision to spread awareness amongst parents and guardians about how toys can contribute to the overall development of a child,” says Priyanka, speaking to The Better India.

“Also, to qualify the ‘handmade’ claim we make, some toys may require basic machine cutting in terms of their base shape. However, fine-tuning, shaping the edges, colouring, detailing, assembling, and finishing is all done manually,” she adds.

Priyanka, a trained architect and interior designer who also specialises in craft and technology, has more than a decade of experience in the higher echelons of Indian academia.

Back in early 2020, while writing a research paper with a fellow architect Minu Joshi for a conference at IIT Bombay, Priyanka took the example of reviving traditional woodcraft practised in the Konkan region of Sawantwadi in Maharashtra — famous for making toys.

“Different revival strategies were proposed in this paper, and both of us thought ‘instead of just discussing these, how can we implement them?’. And that’s how the idea of the Toy Trunk was initially born,” recalls Priyanka.

However, inspiration also came close to home.

In the midst of the first wave of COVID-19, Priyanka’s son had turned three. She was finding it very difficult to keep her son away from the screen during the lockdown. It was very disturbing to see her son getting addicted to mobile phones, tablets, and TVs, which could severely hamper his mental as well as physical growth and learning ability in the long run.

“I found a genuine lack of appropriate toys which could engage him. This pushed me to research child development and methods/tools that allow for the holistic development of a child in a fun and easy way. I found that toys are the best tools one can offer to a child during their early stages of development, as they also entertain,” recalls Priyanka.

Connecting the dots, she thought of redesigning traditional toys made by these artisans as tools that could aid the holistic development of a child. Moreover, if they were made by these artisans, it could play some part in keeping the traditional woodcraft, in places like Sawantwadi, alive.

Ajay, an architect and urban designer by trade who specialises in human ergonomics, also noticed how the advent of online........

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