Amaira Kapoor
2026 Eco-Hero
1st PLACE
Amaira Kapoor
Age 16
Gurugram, India
Project Vaayu: Terracotta Evaporative Cooling for Under-Resourced Classrooms
At 16 years old, student advocate and innovator Amaira Kapoor is tackling educational inequality and climate resilience through low-tech, sustainable engineering. During the severe 2024 heatwave in North India, temperatures skyrocketed to nearly 50°C (122°F). While struggling to focus in her own climate-controlled classroom, Amaira reflected on the hundreds of children in nearby under-resourced public schools who were forced to learn in bare concrete rooms lacking basic ventilation, fans, or reliable electricity. Recognizing that extreme heat stress severely undermines a child's concentration, physical health, and academic development, Amaira refused to ignore the disparity. In April 2024, she founded "Project Vaayu" (Vaayu meaning wind or air) to deliver energy-efficient, localized cooling relief to vulnerable student communities.
Amaira designed and built a low-cost, eco-friendly cooling unit inspired by traditional Indian matkas (terracotta pots), which naturally cool water through evaporation. Her system replaces expensive, high-emission compressors and chemical refrigerants with an organic framework built from discarded terracotta tea cups, known as kulhads. Amaira and her team source these cups directly from local chai vendors, cleaning and stacking them into a metal structure. A small, energy-efficient pump trickles water over the porous terracotta; as the moisture evaporates, it draws heat out of the atmosphere and significantly cools the surrounding air. On-ground field testing across government primary classrooms has consistently demonstrated a temperature drop of 6 to 10°C (11 to 18°F), operating effectively on minimal electricity.
Turning her initial concept into a rugged, real-world utility required immense technical problem-solving. Early prototypes built with scrap wood suffered from severe water leakage and structural warping. Amaira addressed this design bottleneck by shifting to an iron framework and sealing the joints with silica to maximize durability in crowded school environments. To ensure the project's longevity, she manages a growing group of over 20 student volunteers. Since its inception, Project Vaayu has successfully installed five sustainable cooling systems across four government primary schools, directly transforming the daily learning conditions of more than 400 students. Alongside installations, Amaira conducts interactive climate awareness sessions in Hindi, introducing younger students to the environmental science of global warming and low-carbon solutions.
Amaira’s leadership and scalable design have captured widespread domestic and international recognition. Project Vaayu won second place at the South Asia level in the Youth for Earth competition, was featured by prominent media outlets like The Better India, and secured a $730 USD grant from the United Nations Foundation through Girl Up India’s Pitch Power Planet competition. Amaira balances her environmental work with competitive athletics and international debating, having successfully represented Team India at major global tournaments hosted by Cambridge University and the University of Toronto. Her prior community work includes co-founding "Project Khel Kranti," which upcycled scrap materials into sustainable school playgrounds for 300 children. Ahead of graduating, Amaira is integrating direct temperature sensors into her cooling units and actively training a junior tier of student leaders to expand Project Vaayu to 15 schools.
"When temperatures hit 50°C, exposure to extreme heat affects everything: a child's concentration, physical health, and social engagement. Real impact requires adaptability and persistence; leadership isn't about getting everything right the first time, but about refining a solution until it works effectively in the real world. By utilizing simple, time-tested traditional methods, we can protect the communities most vulnerable to climate change without worsening the global climate crisis."
bit.ly/projectvaayuwebsite
thebetterindia.com/eco-coolers-delhi-project-vaayu
