The Banyan Tree Project is a collaborative community art project born in Goa, India. Bringing together the patient hands of diverse individuals, we create massive, breathing textile tapestries that symbolize our shared roots and interconnected lives.
From a modest gathering in a Goan cottage to a global tapestry vision, read how thread and community knit a grand masterpiece.
It all began at Peace Cottage, the residence of Eleanor Viegas in Betalbatim, Goa. A group of women gathered to stitch together panels of what they imagined to be a glowing tree. Initially, it was a modest project measuring roughly four feet by two feet, providing a quiet, therapeutic space for local women to bond and express themselves.
Artist Girish Gujar, husband of original contributor Jyoti, offered to sketch a larger blueprint. He drew the root of a massive banyan tree, its aerial roots intertwined to form a home and hiding place for flora and fauna. This intricate drawing became the roadmap, requiring high skill and splitting the artwork into separate tiles to be stitched individually.
Regular workshops were hosted at Peace Cottage to train contributors and coordinate the assembly. Collaboration flourished, with early support from Sujata Naronha at Bookworm and Rahila Khan in the Textile Department at Goa Government Polytechnic. While contributors came and went, Eleanor and her core team pushed through delays with persistent dedication.
Measuring an imposing four meters by two meters, the completed tapestry was publicly displayed for the first time at the Carpe Diem gallery in Goa. Serving as the centerpiece of an exhibition celebrating women and their artistic contributions, it captivated audiences with its scale, detailed textures, and seamless integration of separate hand-embroidered tiles.
Eleanor and her core team are passionate about their next grand goal. The project envisions bringing together traditions of working with thread and fabric from communities all across the globe. By sewing pieces of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, the project hopes to bring peoples and lands closer together. This website is the first step toward connecting with a global audience to design, plan, and construct this worldwide artwork.
Explore the detailed images of our tapestry tiles and read the articles covering our artistic milestones.
Betalbatim, Goa (2013)
Original Blueprint Sketch
Serendipity Festival (2023)
Carpe Diem Exhibition (2026)
One look at the tapestry hanging alone on the wall and you are spellbound by its sheer size; four meters by two meters. But when you move closer and examine each individual piece you are mesmerized by both the detail, and the difference between the pieces and yet how they seamlessly integrate with their neighbors...
Read what the process of embroidering and contributing to the banyan roots has meant to the women involved.
This website has the potential for creating a network of people concerned with keeping alive embroidery skills which are dying, and for demonstrating the link between creativity and health.
We aim to help people achieve a sense of value and fulfilment in life through the needle and thread.
I came to Peace Cottage to help prepare the edges of the embroidered pieces ready to be placed on the cloth. Hours went by unnoticed and I felt very grounded after working on this project.
When I picked up the cloth, I had no idea where to begin. I kept looking for a design to follow or a pattern to copy. But then I decided to just start without a plan. One stitch led to another — the colours, the patterns, everything seemed to unfold naturally, one step at a time.
We are launching our next phase: building a global tapestry that weaves together thread traditions from all over the world. Whether you are an experienced embroiderer, run a textile community, or want to sponsor workshops, your thread is welcome here.
Betalbatim, Goa, India
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