Thatta Kedona Dolls
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thatta Kedona is a project of the first Pakistan international NGO network in rural area where handmade quality dolls and toys are crafted using all indigenous material and traditional designs based on cultural and folklore themes. The workmanship of the dolls and toys has acclaimed international recognition and clientele through their participation in numerous international events, exhibitions, fairs and display at International Doll Museum Iceland and Deutsche Gesellschafr zur Foerderung der Kultar, Germany. These toys are the embodiment of dreams, hopes and most of all self-reliance of the hands, which breathe a part of the soul into them.
This is a holistic project. Handicraft is in the spot on the stage but the project has a cultural philosophy. Education, science, agriculture, hydrogeology (drinking water project), appropriate technology (men center with around 18 young men), public health (basic health unit with 7 ladies), economy (marketing, distribution), tourism and communication, are all is practice.
Goals
- Self-help activities at a grass root's level
- Holistic village development
- Empowerment of women
- Income generation
- Income generation
- Literacy and vocational training
Philosophy
- Preservation of cultural heritage
- Reduction of migration to cities by creating additional income in the village
- Future is in the rural areas
Awards, Special Invitations
- Best Doll Making in Pakistan via Lok Virsa, Islamabad since 1995
- Pakistan’s only world wide project, special award for the 21st Century, Hanover, Germany in EXPO 2000
- Special Invitation from Consul General in Dubai on Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai, UAE since 2001
- Silver Award / 2nd price by UN-IWSA (International Women Solidarity Association) in Izmir, Turkey in 2004
- Pakistan Pavillon in Aichi, Japan in EXPO 2005
- Participation and or Collection
- Lok Virsa, Ethnological Museum, Pakistan
- International Dolls Museum Flateyri, Iceland
- International Museum for the Children, Izmir, Turkey
- Puppet Museum, Lahore
Participations and or Collections
- Lok Virsa, Ethnological Museum, Pakistan
- International Dolls Museum Flateyri, Iceland
- International Museum for the Children, Izmir, Turkey
- Puppet Museum, Lahore
- Private Collectors
- Kawakami, Japan
- Carew-Reid, Australia
- Rein, UAE
- Farah Naz, Canada
- Bano Makdoum, USA
Dolls of the World - Project Description
Dolls have always been there
Proof of this is found in the escavations in South America, the Subcontinent, Japan, Italy, Greece, and other sites all over the world. Made out of sa number pof materials like wood, wax, clay, cloth etc., they were not only a toy but used also as religious symbols and cult items for example as miniaturized images of persons.
Even today they are used by many people as fetish. Today, the experts are not sure what was the first purpose of the dolls; as a toy, out of which the cult figure developed or the cult figure which became a toy.
Over and above their value as toys with educational value, dolls are realistic documentation of past and present times and therefore important source of our knowledge about the games, life, living and work conditions and economy. They are important cultural carriers.
Dr Senta Siller established different projects in Pakistan, Cameroun, Columbia, etc., in which small but long-term progress was made towards development of rural areas, help towards self-sustained development, discouragement of urbanization by way of income generating projects in the rural areas through production of certain types of handicraft items. Dolls are manufactured here lovingly and clothed in traditional dresses and accessories. Fabric design and types of clothing are revived and take an important place in daily life.
Dolls from Pakistan
The women project established by Dr Siller in 1993 in the pakistani province of Punjab, which has in the meanwhile also added a men centre, has 120 women members and it is generating income. The women here work not on full-time basis but in a traditional way so that family and field work is not compromised and festivals of different types, common in villages, can be celebrated as usual. The village Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka has about 1200 residents. The villagers established the NGO Anjuman-e-Falah-e-Aama in 1991, which co-operates with the DGFK e.V. (German Society for Promotion of Culture). The Anjuman itself co-operates with six further projects in the country.
Dolls from Cameroun
Three co-operatives (Akwatinuighah, Akaankang, HandiCraft CAT) are functioning since 1998 in Bamenda, the capital of the North-West Provinz in Cameroun, which is located near the border to Nigeria. Also this NGO co-operates with the DGFK, Germany. Bamenda has about 60000 residents living on seven hills, who speak eight different languages. Apart from the men of CAT, over 100 women manufacture a variety of handicrafts.
Dolls from Columbia
The co-operative Tantomejor was established in 1999 in Saboya and it works in the meanwhile with three other initiatives. Saboya has about 6000 residents near Chiquinquira, the capital of Departemento Boyaca, north of Bogota. Also this NGO enjoys cooperation of the DGFK. Over 100 women are engaged in the manufacture of handicraft items.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 7:31 PM,
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