Do you love getting creative for festival celebrations? Once upon a time, my friends Amy and Krista and many others, made a wonderful DIY papier-mâché Govardhan Hill .
Crafting the Base with Chicken Wire and Papier-Mâché
To build a sturdy structure, they started by shaping a foundation using flexible chicken wire. Once the hill shape took form, they covered the entire frame in layers of papier-mâché.
After the layers dried completely, the fun really began! They painted the surface in rich, earthy tones and glued decorative elements around the slopes. Finally, they inserted real, living greenery into the hill to bring sacred Govardhan to life.
Enjoy the photos I captured on the day.
Bringing Govardhan Puja to Life for Children (and everyone)
After many years, this specific hill didn’t survive, but it sure was a wonderful installation and celebration.
Sacred Giriraj Govardhan does not strictly require a form of Krishna on top to be worshipped. However, we all love seeing Him!
The festival of Govardhan Puja is always a time of immense rejoicing for devotees. Children especially have wild fun dancing and skipping around the hill. Creating hands-on crafts like this is one of the best ways to involve little ones in the pastime and build joyful memories.
Simple Ways Kids Can Help Build a Papier-Mâché Hill
Have you ever made a DIY papier-mâché Govardhan Hill? Another year, a friend and I built one together. I am so sad to say that although I wrote an entire article detailing the build, I cannot seem to locate my process photos! I hope to find them soon so I can share that tutorial with you.
In the meantime, I hope these photos inspire your own festival preparations this year!
Explore previous Goverdhan Puja activities for kids here in the GROWING GOVERDHAN KIDS ACTIVITY
There’s also an utterly wonderful Goverdhan Hill diorama which my dear friend Jagannath dasi creates. It’s been her passionately pursued hobby for many years, and she has collected the little figures for such a long time. I’ve had the happy opportunity to many times view in person. There is always something fresh to discover!