Native to Bihar, Prashant moved to Pune to study mechanical engineering. He quickly found his interests less in the academic world and more in direct, hands-on work. In these years Prashant became involved in racing and for four years he built cars and team raced professionally.

He also developed his passion for animal welfare and helped to set up shelters in Pune, one of which he built entirely from recycled bottles. Soon Prashant had co-founded Rebirth, an upcycling design firm, where he worked full time, doing up cycling to transform waste materials into functional and beautiful products, changing the faces of locales across Pune. This work led Prashant into exploring a wide range of art and started his work in community art projects with artists from Pune and beyond.

If Prashant hadn’t met Ben, he would have left Pune this year to return to Bihar and set up a community-led, skills development institute. Prashant believes in putting local tradespeople as the instructors, to empower people in rural Bihar to become entrepreneurial, self-driven thinkers and doers.