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In the remote Satmala hills of Maharashtra, the Hiwali School, designed by architect Pooja Khairnar and funded by Give Welfare Organization and Armstrong Robotics & Technologies, redefines education through architecture and community engagement. Drawing inspiration from teacher Keshav Gavit’s innovative approaches, the school replaces traditional rigid classrooms with open, adaptable spaces that promote play, exploration, and teamwork. Constructed using exposed brick, local materials, and flowing courtyards, it blends seamlessly with the landscape while nurturing creativity and a sense of community.
Nestled in the Satmala mountain range in Maharashtra, where terraced farmlands step down toward the plains of Nashik, a new kind of school is taking shape. The Hiwali School, an initiative by Give Welfare Organisation and Armstrong Robotics & Technologies, is a rethinking of what education can mean for rural India’s first-generation learners.
Hiwali is a small settlement of just 25 farming families. Until recently, its children studied under a temporary shelter, their classroom shifting with the seasons. Yet, under the guidance of an extraordinary teacher, Keshav Gavit, the modest school has become a beacon of curiosity and joy. Gavit’s students are known across the region for their extraordinary abilities — writing with both hands, reciting over 1,100 multiplication tables, and, most importantly, learning with enthusiasm. Over 70 children from nearby settlements attend the school daily. Functioning like a daycare, the school operates 365 days a year, 10 hours a day, providing education and life skills through group and activity-based learning.
Designed by Pooja Khairnar, the new school building aims to embody this spirit. Situated on a terraced farmland, it is reached via a 50-foot hike from the main road. The site’s limitations—a narrow strip of land and its proximity to a mountain—influenced its design, making it both functional and poetic. Drawing inspiration from Estonian-American architect Louis Kahn’s philosophy of “To and Through” spaces, Khairnar focused on creating meaningful ‘through’ areas, ensuring the building harmonises with its environment and making navigation an engaging experience.
A water moat surrounds the site, shielding it from mountain runoff and symbolically separating the realm of learning from the world of work below. Inside this boundary, modular blocks containing the library, science lab, computer room, and projector room are arranged diagonally in a U-shaped configuration. The orientation leverages the wind, and the aerodynamic profiles of the blocks respond to the mountain’s rhythm. Between them, a zigzag plinth directs rainwater and transforms into open-air amphitheatres where children read, perform, and play.
The tactile design of the structure — featuring exposed brick walls and writable surfaces — fosters interaction and improvisation. Instead of fixed classrooms, there are flexible learning zones that encourage exploration. Folding doors can open up rooms into larger gathering areas, and the underside of the floating roof serves as a mural canvas for stories. All elements are scaled for comfort: roofs vary between five and eight feet high, creating cosy corners that suit a child’s perspective. The building reflects Gavit’s pedagogy—open, adaptable, and human-centric. By eliminating rigid classroom hierarchies, it allows children to learn actively through doing, talking, and imagining together.
Projects like the Hiwali school exemplify a rising trend throughout rural India, where alternative schools are transforming education into an experiential and inclusive process. These institutions understand that, for first-generation learners, engagement is crucial: an experience gained on a step, beneath a tree, or with a friend can often have a more enduring impact than lessons from a textbook.
Follow Pooja Khairnar here.
