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26th December 2004…
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11000 people
19 villages
5000 families
2000 devastated fishermen
TSUNAMI
were affected in and around Auroville
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Then…
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A helping hand came from Auroville
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The Upasana Design team was brainstorming…
When the tsunami hit, the whole world came together to help…
Once the immediate needs of the people were met
Especially for creating livelihood options.
What could be done in the way of long-term solutions?
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Handmade dolls using left over fabric and threads were felt to be the ideal handicraft to teach the ladies.
Simple to construct and only little 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 the 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...
16A 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 creativity. DAY 3
20Now the ladies try to make Tsunamika without a trainer’s guidance.
DAY 4
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Smiles……..
DAY 5
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PREMA.MPREMA SHANKAR RAJALAKSHMI
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They all receive work to be done at home, and completed in a week’s 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 people
in a given village.
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Finally,
evaluation and distribution of further work is carried out every week…
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Having done this …
we realized that more design input was required :
* For the ladies : to keep them interested in the work
* For the users : to provide them with a utilitarian product.
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Two creative workshops were held to create an original ‘idea bank’. Ideas were taken to villages to create
livelihood.
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Group discussions were held
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…Designers went to work
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Guest designers also contributed …
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…developing several new design ideas for the idea bank.
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Next step …
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TRAINING THE TRAINERS
Three workshops conducted at Upasanawith fisherwomen selected to act as leaders.
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First day in Upasana, Auroville
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Understanding the process of becoming a trainer
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Learning about proportion and aesthetics
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Quality control
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Developing presentation skills
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And what finally came out was not just the products
But Courage,
Confidence,
Pride
Responsibility,
and Freedom.
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A life-changing entity was born; 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 the tsunamiThe tsunami that changed the lives of millions.
She is the memory of the 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 the 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
Key string
Mobile string
Paper jamPage marker
Pinner Tsunamika pencil
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After 63 months…
More than 100 fisherwomen from six villages have been earning Rs. 750 – 2500 / month by making Tsunamikas!
They have made more than 25,00,000 dolls and distributed them across the world to nearly 80 nations!
Not a single doll was sold… they were gifted 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 gifts, the people who were touched by her helped the project to grow by:
• distributing Tsunamikas, carrying a sense of abundance
• volunteering for the project by giving time and energy
• financially supporting the project
• by telling her story toNow the entire project is run by the donations that are pouring in.
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Schools used Tsunamikafor education….
…in Spain…in Singapore
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Industries used Tsunamikaas a new year gift…
…in Denmark
…in Spain
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‘Peace one day’ used her on ‘peace one day’ as a symbol of hope for world peace.
•Across the world, she took many forms..
•Symbol of hope
•Symbol of peace
•Symbol of unconditional giving
•Symbol protecting female fetuses
•Awareness for breast cancer
•Symbol of acknowledging an effort towards the social sector
54Large numbers of people have volunteered to distribute her worldwide.
Making Tsunamika a wonderful example of the gift economy in action,
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She was presented an ‘award of excellence for contribution to business and society’ by the President of India.
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She is hope after the tsunami.
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Where is she now?
On 7th march 2010, we celebrated her 5th birth day
One of the few post-tsunami projects still blooming and inspiring mankind, fully self sustained.
The 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…
To volunteer,
Please write to:
www.tsunamika.org
Thank you.
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