Thatta Kedona

Culture is a Basic Need

Report from Thatta Kedona
Sunday, February 28, 2021

The pandemic is making itself felt everywhere and is also having an impact on NGOs.

The NGO was very pleased to be able to welcome journalists of the BBC in the village recently, a nice report by the journalists pleased the NGO and all our interested friends. Even a small exhibition of Heiku paintings by Dr. Senta Siller was made possible although the opening had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

Visitors and guests can still not come. The hot season of the year will be beginning soon, so that the desire for keeping cool will be of paramount importance.

Between March and September, doctors and staff from OPWA (Okara Patients Welfare Association) are expected to come to the village and examine the residents for hepatitis. The tests as well as the medication will be totally free.

Later on, OPWA will also organize further camps in future in which eyes and teeth of the villagers will be examined. The village dispensary needs urgent repairs and possibly it can be repaired and refurbished in the summer.

The sale of village products in traditional bazaars is also currently not possible due to the pandemic, so that they are being sold only in small numbers over the Internet.

From our partners in Germany we are aware about the extensive work of sorting, editing and archiving, which is being done, so that the archive there continues to grow.

There is great hope that we will be able to inaugurate the exhibition next autumn, maybe also lay the foundation stone with the SHE - for which a piece of land for this purpose has already been organized by the President and General Secretary of the NGO and for which further support of the Friends of the SSDC is sincerely hoped for.

Labels: Aamir Rafique, Amjad Ali, Dr Senta Siller, Prof Dr Pintsch, Thatta Kedona

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 10:01 AM, ,

Corona doesn't stop anywhere, so lectures are limited in places
Friday, February 5, 2021

Labels: Communication, Dr Norbert Pintsch

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9:58 AM, ,

Spirit of Thatta Kedona
Monday, February 1, 2021

The project that was started by Dr. Senta Siller and Dr. Norbert Pintsch in a village Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka situated on the bank of River Ravi some two decades ago has come of age. A lot has changed over last twenty years.

The Project is a story of production in the village, cooperation with craftsmen, permanent contacts with clients in Karachi (Sheraton), Lahore (PC), Islamabad (Nomad Gallery) and many others in and out of Pakistan, active participations in different melas, bazaars and cultural events and much more.

Everyone in the village is associated with handicrafts production process one way or the other. Women makes dolls, pottery and decorative soviniours where as men make tin toys. Craftsmanship of the artisans has made Thatta Kedona a renowned brand in dolls, toys, handicrafts and soviniour markets around the world. Equally important is the procurement of the material, design research and marketing.

Meaningful contacts with clients (like Sheraton Karachi, PC Lahore (PC), Nomad gallery Islamabad and active participations on different melas, bazaars and cultural events not only help market Thatta Kedona products but also display beautiful traditional culture that can only be seen in villages now. The awards that Thatta Kedona artisans get are one the one hand a testimony of the craftsmanship and on the other hand it shows their great contribution in preservation of our cultural heritage which is fading fast as the world is getting more and more urban with every passing day.

The Project has made a lot of changes in the village over the years. Woman Art Center, TTTC for men, Basic Health Unit, One Baby One Tree tradition, Mud House Owners project and Education Program of AFA (village NGO) are doing a lot of collective good for the quaint little village that stands out as a model village anywhere in Pakistan.

Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch – an untiring senior volunteer fondly called Chaudhry Norbert - is the soul of the Project. It is amazing in the way Dr. Norbert Pintsch organizes the whole affair and also looks after the army of foreign volunteers and local visitors that come to the village TGD.

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11:08 AM, ,

The TGD Village Museum

The original idea was to establishment an independent village museum. Initial home work had also been done. Sadly, it could not be put on ground due to financial difficulties. But the idea lives on.

TGD village NGO (AFA) is now utilizing the Boys School that was established by the AFA using funds raided from film shows about the village Project for village museum where traditional handicraft techniques (weaving, pottery making, foodstuff preparation and cooking, remain on the farm houses there by automatically leading to maintenance and repair of traditional devices used in handicraft making) will be displayed and preserved.

Also a room in the museum is used by young people for playing traditional music in the evening. During the day, visitors can see the work of the NGO in the area of Appropriate Technology and handicraft through posters. The teachers of the school can also take advantage of the contents of the posters, which can be used by them for teaching purpose. A first glass vitrine could be purchased in order to protect old objects. The use of a photo-voltaic system in the museum makes it possible to visit the museum even during power outages. The small museum located at the entrance to the village also makes it possible to inform visitors about the village project without disturbing work in the Women Art Center TTTC for men.

Labels: Thatta Kedona

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11:07 AM, ,