“Chơi Rì”: Children as game designers using local materials

In many mountainous areas, mass-produced toys are often costly and ill-suited to local living conditions; meanwhile, forests, streams, gardens, and fields offer a wealth of materials for play and learning. Children possess rich imaginations, but without space and opportunity, their creativity can easily fade.

The “Chơi Rì” project — initiated by Canh Dieu Viet Nam and Picenza Group — is designed to spark and nurture creativity from everyday life, helping children observe, collaborate, and cherish their environment. “Chơi Rì” is an arts–education–social development practice where children become game designers using local materials and their own living context. Each game created from materials gathered in nature or scraps of everyday life is not only a learning tool but also a cultural–social language of children: it reflects their living context, questions environmental change, and reframes relationships between people, community, and nature.

In August 2025, more than 30 children in Na Ri district, Bac Kan province (now Xuan Duong commune, Thai Nguyen province) participated in the project’s activity series. Under the guidance of artists, the children:

• created models reconstructing their homes and places of living,
• made musical instruments and many art-games from natural materials,
• joined side experiences such as listening to sounds from their surroundings and performing shadow puppetry using products they made themselves.

From late September to early October 2025, the works are expected to be brought to Ha Noi for a closing exhibition. The exhibition is not only a place to “view” but an interactive, co-creative space where children’s stories–games–creations open multi-dimensional dialogues between individuals and the community.

Canh Dieu Viet Nam sincerely thanks Picenza Group and the local authorities and communities for their companionship. We will continue similar activities in the future to create more safe, nature-connected creative spaces for children in areas with limited access to arts and skills-based activities.