1. 26th December 2004…

2. 11000 people 19 villages 5000 families 2000 devastated fishermen TSUNAMI were affected in and around Auroville

4. Then…

5. A helping hand came from Auroville

9. 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.

10. TSUNAMI BY UPASANA DESIGN STUDIO HANDICRAFT WORKSHOP REHABILITATION PROGRAM

12. 2 nd FEBRUARY 2005 – 26 th MAY 2005 7 villages 23 handicraft-training modules (5 days / module) 474 ladies 30 assistant teachers from the villages

13. From the raw material … … to the finished product.

14. Introduction to handicraft workshop TRAINING MODULE - DAY 1

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

16. A few simple steps to make the doll… DAY 2

17. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

18. … and Tsunamika is ready .

19. Thrilled at their creativity. DAY 3

20. Now the ladies try to make Tsunamika without a trainer’s guidance. DAY 4

21. Smiles…….. DAY 5

22. PREMA.M PREMA SHANKAR RAJALAKSHMI

23. They all receive work to be done at home, and completed in a week’s time.

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

25. Later, some of them are chosen to act as leaders & contact people in a given village.

26. Finally, evaluation and distribution of further work is carried out every week…

27. 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.

28. Two creative workshops were held to create an original ‘idea bank’. Ideas were taken to villages to create livelihood.

29. Group discussions were held

30. … Designers went to work

31. Guest designers also contributed …

32. … developing several new design ideas for the idea bank.

33. Next step …

34. TRAINING THE TRAINERS Three workshops conducted at Upasana with fisherwomen selected to act as leaders.

35. First day in Upasana, Auroville

36. Understanding the process of becoming a trainer

37. Learning about proportion and aesthetics

38. Quality control

39. Developing presentation skills

40. A nd what finally came out was not just the products But C ourage, C onfidence, P ride R esponsibility, and F reedom.

41. A life-changing entity was born; She was… During, this whole process we realized that something else was happening

42. Tsunamika As her name suggests, she is a child of the tsunami The 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 cloth Left 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.

44. After conducting the workshops; follow -up was done in the villages to verify the progress

45. Leaders check the dolls & segregate them …

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

47. Gradually, Tsunamika evolved beautifully …

48. … blending in with various utility products: Hair clip Key string Mobile string Paper jam Page marker Pinner Tsunamika pencil

49. 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 …

51. Schools used Tsunamika for education…. … in Spain … in Singapore

52. Industries used Tsunamika as a new year gift… … in Denmark … in Spain

54. Large numbers of people have volunteered to distribute her worldwide. Making Tsunamika a wonderful example of the gift economy in action,

55. She was presented an ‘award of excellence for contribution to business and society’ by the President of India.

56. She is hope after the tsunami.

57. 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…

58. Tsunamika is a living symbol, A symbol of love and hope, A symbol of joy and unconditional giving.

59. She is our beloved. She has touched many lives. Now, she is here. With you!

60. Spreading love around the world… To volunteer, Please write to: [email_address] [email_address] www.tsunamika.org Thank you.