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26th December 2004…

26th December 2004…

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11,000 people 19 villages 5,000 families 2,000 devastated fishermen

TSUNAMI

were affected in and around Auroville

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Auroville pitched in

Then…

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A helping hand came from Auroville

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The Upasana Design team was brainstorming…

Once immediate needs of the people were taken care,

what can be done as long term solutions?

Especially for creating livelihood options…

When the Tsunami hit , the whole world was getting together to help…

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Handmade dolls using left over fabric and threads, was felt to be the ideal handicraft to train the ladies.

…simple to construct and only bits of fabrics required as raw material.

It was decided to teach handicraft to the fisherwomen.

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TSUNAMI

BY

UPASANA DESIGN STUDIO

HANDICRAFT WORKSHOP

REHABILITATION PROGRAM

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2ND FEBRUARY 2005 – 26TH MAY 2005

7 villages.

23 handicraft training modules ( 5 days / module)

474 ladies

30 Assistant Teachers from the villages

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From raw material …

… to the finished product.

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Introduction to Handicraft workshop TRAINING MODULE - DAY 1

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Merely threading the needle was a new and difficult task for most of the ladies...

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Few simple steps to make the doll…

DAY 2

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Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

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… and, Tsunamika is ready.

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Thrilled at their own creativity.

DAY 3

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DAY 4

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Smiles……..

DAY 5

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PREMA.MPREMA SHANKAR RAJALAKSHMI

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Then all receive work to be done at home, and completed in a weeks time.

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Documentation of the workshops & their work is presented to the ladies.

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Later, some of them are chosen to act

as leaders &

contact person

in a given village.

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Finally,

evaluation and distribution of further work is carried out every week…

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We asked for a helping hand…

& support arrived, first from,

National Institute of Fashion Technology – Chennai, India.

Having done this …

we realized that more design input was required :

* For the ladies : to keep them interested in the work

* For the user : to provide them with a utilitarian product.

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Two creative workshops were held

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Group discussions were held

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…then Designers went to work

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Guest Designers also contributed …

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… developing several new design ideas

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Next Step …

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TRAINING THE TRAINERS

3 workshops conducted at Upasana

With fisherwomen selected to act as leaders

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First day in Auroville

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Understanding the process

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Learning about Proportion

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Trying out what they have learnt…

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Developing presentation skills

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And what came out finally is not only the

But Courage ,

Products…

Confidence,

Pride,

Responsibility

and Freedom.

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A life-changing entity was taking birth; She was…

During, this whole process we realized that something else was

happening

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Tsunamika

As her name suggests, she is a child of tsunami;The tsunami that changed the lives of millions.

She is the memory of Tsunami...She has been hand-made by women,The women who live by the ocean,

She is made out of bits and pieces of clothLeft over from other works;

Made from what is known as waste.There is nothing called waste in Nature,

Everything has its creative role.Everything can be living & beautiful,

As Tsunamika is …

… a symbol,

a living symbol with her own life.

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After conducting the workshops;

follow -up was done in the villages to verify the progress

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Leaders check the dolls; & segregate them …

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Now ladies were found to be self-sufficient in their livelihood

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Gradually,

Tsunamika evolved beautifully …

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… blending in with various utility products.

Hair clip_1

Key string

Mobile string

Paper jamPage marker

Pinner Tsunamika pencil

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After 24 months…

More than 180 fisherwomen from 6 villages are earning Rs.750 – 2500 / month by making Tsunamikas!

They have made more than 10,00,000 dolls and distributed them across the world to nearly 50 nations!

Not a single doll was sold… it was given as a gift to the world as a symbol of joy and unconditional giving.

Today…

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Gift Economy in action…

When thousands of Tsunamikas were given out as gift the people who were touched by her, helped the project to grow by:

• distributing Tsunamikas

• offering their talents and time

• financially supporting the project

• finding innovative ways to use Tsunamikas

• by telling her story…

Now the entire project is run by the donations that are coming!

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Schools used Tsunamikafor education….

…in Spain

…in Singapore

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Industries used Tsunamikaas New-year gift…

…in Denmark

…in Spain

52Large number of people volunteer to distribute her worldwide.

making Tsunamika a wonderful example of gift economy in action,

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Tsunamika family is growing every day…

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Tsunamika is a living symbol,

A symbol of love and hope,

A symbol of joy and unconditional giving…

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She is our beloved.She has touched many lives.

Now, she is here.With you!

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Spreading love around the world…

Thank you

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