Design & People identify how design can intervene to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the lives of people disadvantaged by war, disability, and political and environmental conditions. We unite and encourage graphic, industrial and architectural designers to use their experience and skills towards social and humanitarian projects. Mission: Design For People In Need.
GOOD design produces good results when art merges with the need to connect people, touch their lives and add value to it. Associates of Design & People work tirelessly and voluntarily with the intent of making good design and communication technologies available for grassroot level organisations working for the benefit of the common man. Design & People fills the need by making good design for the deserving organisations and institutions and helping them reach both the people in need and those willing to help. This time in the event of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-2019), Design & People felt duty bound to create a logo to remind people of the message of the Bapu at a time when violence have become common in our daily lives. "Ba-Bapu: 150 Years" logo was developed for Mumbai-based Mahatma Gandhi Foundation (MGF) led by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma and Kasturba Gandhi. The Mahatma Gandhi foundation, India works chronicling and spreading the Gandhian values and principles in the society.
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AHEAD of administrative sanction of Rs 2.78 crore for setting up of a new Nirbhaya shelter home at Pulayanarkotta, a pilot project called 'Punarjani' with smart library, laptops and television was launched at two Nirbhaya shelter homes in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala. Nirbhaya Cell of state social justice department joined hands with telecom operator Idea Cellular Ltd and NGO Design & People to launch the scheme. The scheme is entirely funded by Idea Cellular Ltd, which has chosen 'education of the girl child' as its CSR theme this year and it is operationalised with the support of NGO Design & People. Aptly termed 'Punarjani' these smart libraries are meant to encourage the girls in the Nirbhaya centres to develop their creative and intellectual skills. The libraries are designed in a modular fashion wherein the furniture can be reassembled to host multiple activities like reading, video learning, conducting seminars, playing indoor games and painting. The libraries are also equipped with TVs, laptops and hundreds of books that can be accessed by the children at these centres.
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THOSE who admire the work of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), Thailand and also those who need their help must have noticed the new identity of the Thailand-based organisation. The neat font of TLHR in a combination of black and orange (TLHR's signature color) with an emphasis of H of human where a noticeable logo design symbolises a combination of gavel and law book. The design is by Santosh Kangutkar, a Mumbai-based graphic designer, and was coordinated by an India-based organisation called the Design & People (D&P). The organisation was established in 2003 with an aim to launch what they call "design activism", offering design to organisations that deserves a good design but cannot afford a huge sum of commercial designers. In India alone, they have helped numerous organisations and campaigns, one of them being Friends of Tibet, their kind of spin-off organisation that works closely with HH the XIV Dalai Lama.
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DESIGN & People works closely with Friends of Xinjiang (FOX) and takes up cause to develop an identity for the organisation, enabling an effective channel of communication with the world through design and content. The Mission Statement of Design & People states that "Today, at a time when regimes emerge by crushing "others" to establish themselves as supreme powers, we at Design & People empathise with all those who struggle to safeguard humanity and their natural environment. Creative individuals have used their talent as a tool of resistance in the face of oppression since the dawn of humanity. The process is on-going and unending, since man is a 'thinking' being. Design & People is a network of volunteers who believe in creative expression and in bringing out what the powers avoid." Design & People has aligned with the cause of the Uyghur people with the aim of taking their message to the world, in the hope of re-establishing justice in the region.
A Brief History: The headlines "Two Uyghur Students Die in Chinese Custody after Voluntary Return from Egypt," as recent as December 22, 2017, highlight the painful plight of the people of East Turkestan, known also as Xinjiang Uyghur 'Autonomous' Region of China. The world watches as China continues a relentless pursuit of Uyghurs living and studying abroad. Over 20 students had returned voluntarily and remain untraced. There are reports of them being subjected to 'severe human rights violations' to put it softly. A more direct expression would be that the very basic existence and right to life of Uyghurs is under severe threat and China remains unchallenged.
East Turkestan lies along the legendary silk route with China and Mongolia on the eastern border, Russia on the north, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the West. The area has been under siege since the invasion from the Manchu Dynasty in 1759. The independent-minded Uyghurs had valiantly opposed this invasion, with 42 revolutions against the Manchus. Liberation was achieved with the expulsion of the Manchus and the establishment of Yetteshahar State in 1864. This short-lived independence was snatched away by another Manchu invasion in 1876. A bloody war and eight years hence, Yetteshahar State was formally annexed by the Manchu and renamed as 'Xinjiang' meaning 'New Territory' in 1884.
The Manchus were overthrown by Chinese Nationalists and Xinjiang came under the rule of Chinese warlords who dominated the administration of the province in the later part of the Manchu empire. Numerous uprisings and revolts by the Uyghurs resulted in the establishment of East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in 1933 and 1944. However, they were overthrown by political intrigue of the Soviet Union. In October of 1949, the People's Liberation Army marched into East Turkestan, effectively ending the freedom of a fiercely independent people — the people of East Turkestan, the Uyghurs. This brief history paints a poignant picture of how territorial suppression continues in a post War era... it also shows that no lessons have been learnt... that the policy of appeasement continues.
History has long established that people revolting against injustice are not 'traitors' but patriots who are fighting the noble cause of independence of their people and nation. So it is with the Uyghurs who carry on this fight in an apparently blind world where international bodies choose silence over acknowledgment of this suffering, let alone protest against small nations like East Turkestan under foreign oppression.
EVER since the Tibetan National Uprising that swept across the Tibetan plateau and shook China at its base in the year of Beijing 2008 Olympics, time has changed for Tibet forever. Tibetans inside Tibet are today awakened, united and ready for any sacrifice; the 132 cases of supreme sacrifice by self-immolation that followed the violent crackdown by Chinese security forces in Tibet.
Since the Tibetan Uprising we have seen signs of protest in two other Chinese occupied countries: Southern Mongolia and East Turkestan. And this year world witnessed the awe-inspiring student's movement in Hong Kong demanding Democracy and freedom for the island city. Though it is only an early sign in Taiwan, the political party that advocated merging with China is losing confidence of the people. If the opposition, the Democratic Progressive Party wins the 2016 general elections in Taiwan it will hugely boost the hope of Democracy and rule of law in China and Hong Kong.
Friends of Tibet organised the first 'Conference for an Independent Tibet' in the year 2007 in New Delhi. Critics at that time censured us for "unnecessarily championing the Independence of Tibet" when Tibetans inside Tibet remain 'silent.' As if to answer such cynics the 2008 Tibetan National Uprising reminded the world how much Tibetans inside Tibet yearned for freedom as more than four hundred Tibetans sacrificed their lives and thousands were jailed following violent crackdown by Chinese security forces. Friends of Tibet therefore calls for the '2nd Conference for an Independent Tibet' to be held in New Delhi from April 11-12, 2015. This is an attempt by Friends of Tibet to understand the overall situation and also estimate details of the different facets of the struggle. The conference will bring together as many Indian supporters to once again resolve to work for the sacred goal of the Independence of Tibet.
The aim of the conference is to bring together all together once again to review the struggle from the bigger picture and deliberate on creative and constructive ways in which the Tibetan Independence movement can be sustained and taken forward. The conference will pass a resolution in the form of Declaration which will guide the future course of action in the Independence movement.
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1) 80 Marcher' Statues Final Display: As part of the Dandi Memorial Project, a Prayer Meeting and the Public Preview of 80 Dandi Marchers' Sculpture installation was organised in the Lecture Theater Lawns, IIT Bombay on February 12, 2014. The Dandi Salt Satyagraha Memorial is a project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It is advised by a high-level committee and is coordinated and implemented by IIT Bombay in association with an international design team. Design & People extended its support to IIT Bombay in Research and Coordination for the Dandi Salt Satyagraha Memorial Project. (Photo: IIT Bombay) 2) Prof Kirti Trivedi of Industrial Design Centre of IIT Bombay introduces the activities of Design & People during "Satyagrahas of Design & People" talk by Sethu Das, Co-Founder, Design & People organised during the second Dandi Marchers' Sculptures Workshop at IIT Bombay on December 16, 2013.
3) "Satyagrahas of Design & People" talk by Sethu Das, Co-Founder, Design & People during the second Dandi Marchers' Sculptures Workshop at IIT Bombay on December 16, 2013.
4) Bina Nayak, a Design & People Member presents Design & People works and campaigns during "Satyagrahas of Design & People" talk by Sethu Das, Co-Founder, Design & People organised during the second Dandi Marchers' Sculptures Workshop at IIT Bombay on December 16, 2013. (Photos: Prayag Mukundan)
IIT Bombay: It is probably for the first time in the history of contemporary art in India, hundreds of artists, supporters and volunteers from around the world are coming together to set up a monument of international importance — National Salt Satyagraha Memorial Project at Dandi, Gujarat. And it is probably for the first time a memorial is to be dedicated to the courageous 'Salt Satyagrahis' who marched with Mahatma Gandhi to defy British imperialism. The Monument celebrates the historic March of 1930 that triggered a wider Civil Disobedience Movement, which in turn inspired leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr in the US and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. The Dandi Salt Satyagraha Memorial is a project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It is advised by a high-level committee and is coordinated and implemented by IIT Bombay in association with an international design team. Design & People extended its support to IIT Bombay in Research and Coordination for the Dandi Salt Satyagraha Memorial Project.
The project to build the historic monument for the Satyagrahis was called the "most meaningful cultural monument of Gandhiji" by Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, Former Prime Minister of Tibetan Government in Exile was fully supported by Design & People from its very beginning. On December 16, 2013 during the second Dandi Marchers' Sculptures Workshop at IIT Bombay, Sethu Das, Co-Founder, Design & People and Bina Nayak, a member of the organisation gave a joint-presentation on "Satyagrahas of Design & People".
+ National Salt Satyagraha Memorial: Reports
Design & People Co-founder Sethu Das joins the "Jeju Island Road Show Project" in South Korea organised by the Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea from August-September 2012. (Photos: Lee Sangjae)
THE purpose of "Jeju Island Road Show Project" was to study the threats faced by the inhabitants of the controversial Jeju Island, South Korea and also to explore the possibilities of a civilian intervention. Jeju Island, a World Heritage Site which has a volcanic mountain in its centre is now under a big threat from the United States Naval Base under construction. One of the biggest in this region of South East Asia, the massive naval base is going to house more than twenty American and South Korean warships including submarines. The study tour and a peaceful creative resistance to the Naval Base construction site was organised by the Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea from August-September 2012.
Sethu Das, Co-founder of Design & People joined the team members from South Korea, Spain and Germany as a Resource Person. The International Team included some of the known design curators and activists. The "Jeju Island Road Show Project" team also held talks with with Fr Moon Jeong-hyun, the Catholic priest turned activist who has become the most popular icon of the ongoing opposition of the Jeju villagers trying to block construction which will threaten their peaceful lives.
+ 'The Artro': Report
MEN-TSEE-KHANG, the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama is an educational and charitable institution that functions under the guidance and support of the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan Government in Exile. The institution is dedicated to preserve the ancient system of Tibetan medicinal practices. It started the traditional Tibetan medical camp in Kerala with Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar in September 2010 in association with Friends of Tibet. Men-Tsee-Khang requires moisture-proof paper envelopes for distributing pills with text in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala, clearly explaining the intake as most people confuse themselves with the instructions and sometimes even take the pills from wrong envelopes.
Design & People Solution: After discussing several design options with Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Chief Medical Officer of Bangalore Men-Tsee-Khang, Design & People comes out with three paper envelope designs to be printed on three different colours — white, yellow and blue — signifying Nes-pa-sum or Tridoshas with white as phelgm, yellow as bile, and blue as wind-energy.
IN the process of working together, Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj (GGMS) and Design & People developed the idea of 'Swaraj in Design'. It seemed so much in place and relevant to the work Design & People doing so far — bringing Design to the idea of Swaraj. Once the most used in India, the word Swaraj is more or less disappeared from our everyday vocabulary. While the word 'Swaraj' was added to the recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), it seems to be difficult to see the word and the right meaning associated with it in our own dictionaries including the Sanskrit dictionary. Both GGMS and Design & People felt the need to develop a Visual Thesaurus for 'Swaraj' which could illuminate the sacred word once again with much more clarity on synonyms associated with it.
Mahatma Gandhi said: "Swaraj is a sacred word, a Vedic word, meaning self-rule and self-restraint, and not freedom from all restraint which 'independence' often means." After a long research and discussion on various synonyms associated, a Visual Thesaurus for the word 'Swaraj' with synonyms associated with was developed in a visual representational form. The keyword is connected to direct meanings with solid lines and is further connected with related meanings. The proximity of synonyms is structured to indicate their significance and relationship with the keyword. Synonyms, connected meanings and Antonyms are demarcated using colour codes — Green, Blue and Red respectively. Those who develop this diagram further are requested to share the same with Design & People. Please write to us.
THE residents of Eloor Udyogamandal industrial town in Kerala is under constant threat of 25 odd polluting factories situated near the River Periyar. More than 20,000 people living in the island town are caught between the polluting industries and the river as there is no escape route for them in case of a gas leakage or in an emergency situation. The Eloor Ferry Resident's Association (EFRA) is now in the preparation of forming a human chain across the River Periyar on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at Eloor Ferry. This action is to remind the authorities about their last demand — an emergency exit route. The organisation requires publicity materials to invite public participation in this unique protest. Many people have given their blood and sweat in their struggle for a permanent solution to the on-going pollution of River Periyar. The State Government, industries and the trade unions remain silent on the issue of pollution while highlighting the progress these polluting industries have brought to Eloor Island. A poster is being developed with the image of an ordinary man's footprint in blood, which will serve as a logo for the Eloor People's Struggle for a cleaner and safer environment.
ABHILASHA India Society, an Uttrakhand-based non-profit organisation consisting of young and enthusiastic youths from different scientific, research, management, rural, social and professional backgrounds to provide a platform for all to share their thoughts, monetary, emotional values for uplifting the needful individuals, social projects, socially deprived community to make them able and to step with the main stream of the society. The organisation requires an identity that communicates its core activity of promoting social change in the society.
'Abhilasha' means desire and what can be a better metaphor than the desire of a bud to bloom and spread fragrance and love. The new Abhilasha identity is a simplified form of a Lotus with the central area of the flower modified to give the feel of radiance and energy. The vibrancy of colours and multiplicity of petals pointing towards various directions depict the intent and aim behind the endeavor while the dot represents the bud from where it all started.
ABHILASHA India Society, an Uttrakhand-based non-profit organisation consisting of enthusiastic youths from different walks of life work voluntarily for the socially deprived community to make them able and to step with the main stream of the society. The organisation has its own local campaigns to develop a sense of unity and vision towards various needs which are crucial to the existence of the society. One of their main campaigns in Uttrakhand region is a campaign to create awareness among visiting tourists to save water. Abhilasha needs a poster to start their campaign.
A recent report says by 2020, both China and India will start importing water. The Blue Gold crisis is everywhere. Even states like Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala in India, known for receiving the maximum rainfall a year during monsoon seem to have very few buildings or houses with the water harvesting facilities. Saving or harvesting water seems to be the only answer to our water crisis in the country. Design & People decides to focus on the simple, yet the strong two-word message of 'Save Water' in which even the alphabets are participating in the simple activity of collecting water to educate the masses about the importance of the saving water.
VJ Jose, is known as 'Periyar Riverkeeper' because of his continuous efforts to protect the river from pollution for the last three decades. He protects, patrols, speaks, fights, trains and inspires people around though his activities. Through the programme 'Interact with Riverkeeper', he is been able to conduct more than 3,000 interactive sessions with students across Kerala state. The session is usually done in Malayalam and with the help of a Powerpoint Presentation Jose developed. The Riverkeeper needs a presentation to be used during interactive sessions in schools and colleges across the state.
Because Design & People started its activities in 2003 with the active involvement of VJ Jose, the Periyar Riverkeeper, it was not difficult for us to gather information about the activities of the organisation. The key to a good and simple Powerpoint Presentation (Design & People love the pirated version of Microsoft Powerpoint!) for Periyar Riverkeeper was the right information and the availability of right images. 22-slide PPT developed by Design & People for Periyar Riverkeeper talks about Periyar River, history of Periyar Riverkeeper, present toxic pollution level, and what individuals could do for the dying river. The new presentation was used for the first time during 'Understanding Swaraj' workshop in Dharamshala organised by Swarajpeeth.
THE 'Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj' (GGMS) is a network of individuals, organisations, campaigns and movements, subscribes to the vision of 'Swaraj' — Self-Rule or Home Rule — as explained by Mahatma Gandhi in Hind Swaraj. It was created on the occasion of Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference, November 2009, in Delhi by more than a hundred eminent thinkers and activists wanted a portal which was easy to use. The organisation wants to vertical and horizontal integration of its members and visitors. The end objective was to communicate the message to as much people as possible.
Design and People deployed a popular blogging software as the content management system. Members of GGMS with limited technical knowledge can manage the content of the website with ease. Popular social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo & OpenID were embedded to take the discussion beyond the website, but still keeping them connected to the movement. Tweet messages were embedded to broadcast live messages from any place at anytime to the website. The entire website utilises 'free-to-use' kind of services. None of the services were actually paid-for.
THE 'Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj' (GGMS) is a network of individuals, organisations, campaigns and movements, subscribes to the vision of 'Swaraj' — Self-Rule or Home Rule — as explained by Mahatma Gandhi in Hind Swaraj. It was created on the occasion of Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference, November 2009, in Delhi by more than a hundred eminent thinkers and activists from all over the world. The organisation wants an identity which captures the spirit of the Gandhian movement while highlighting the vedic word Swaraj.
Swaraj, the sacred word of India is slowly disappearing. India has achieved its political freedom but not the Swaraj Mahatma Gandhi once dreamed. Developing a new identity for Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj (GGMS) without an image of Gandhi in it was a bit out of context for both designers and the members of GGMS. After several discussions and debates with GGMS Core Group members on various logo options developed by Design & People team members, the new identity showing Gandhi as the vision and guidance for the future Swarajits was finalised.
FRIENDS of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action and its activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Tibet was an independent country till China occupied and diminished it from face of World Atlas. The organisation wants to launch a worldwide campaign to educate people about the position of Tibet in the world map as an independent country and other occupied countries by People's Republic of China.
Conceptualised by Rohit Singh, a Friends of Tibet Campaigner based in Mumbai, Design & People took the task of working on one of the most complex design jobs for a small group of ordinary designers — a place for Tibet in the political map of the world. A worldwide campaign for re-establishing Tibet on the World Map and to focus on the aspect of its position, its importance and its existence which China is out to destroy, a group of Design & People started its research in consultation with Tibetan historians, intellectuals of the exile community in India and traditional cartographers from Tibet. After several months of debates, research and laborious execution, Design & People develops the final version of 'World With Tibet' map for Friends of Tibet. On December 10, 2007, Human Rights Day, Venerable Geshe Lhakdor, Official Translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama released the first copy map in public meeting in Mumbai.
SWARAJ Peeth Trust wanted an online solution to communicate with its delegates and participants from all over the world, media, visitors and general public. The main objective was to provide information regarding conference itenary, the papers presented and to facilitate discussion on Swaraj during the three-day Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference at Suraj Kund, Haryana, India from November 22, 2009.
The entire solution was a mash up of web 2.0 technologies. Multiple technologies were brought together on a popular blogging software to exceed client expectations. Except for a browser (enabled with Java Script & Cookies) no other software is required to view documents, photos or use any other services on the website. The content of the website was made available in 8 international languages, including Chinese. Live feeds including photographs, messages and papers presented were distributed on real-time basis during the International Conference. Web 2.0 Technologies like Disqus, Flickr, Twitter, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Friend Connect and Google Translation were deployed for the project. The Hind Swaraj event website incorporates the basic rules of Search Engine Optimisation. So even after the conference is over, the site still gets a stream of visitors regularly on daily basis. PDF documents were displayed using Google PDF Viewer for the browser. So even without the PDF viewing software installed, users were able to view the documents. With site-management happening from Mumbai in Maharashtra and the Conference at Suraj Kund in Haryana, Design & People used technology effectively to bridge barriers and made distance a non-issue.
AN eight page, simple two or three flat colour booklet, listing out the Laws and Rights of the Disabled people under the Indian Constitution. This was to disseminate information like a Ready Reckoner, for anybody and everybody. It was to be given primarily to government officials and bureaucrats to sensitise and educate them. Shishu Sarothi, Assam did not have funds to do a 4-colour offset product, but they were afraid that a typically 'official looking' piece of work would not engage an already busy official. Shishu Sarothi approaches Design & People to provide a solution that would be attractive, easy to follow, and portrayed disabled people in a positive and inspiring manner, rather than the usual manner of seeking pity and help.
At first it was decided that while the inside pages would be single or double colour, the cover had to be 4-colour offset. Design & People made several cover concepts that portrayed a positive outlook, were bright and cheerful. Somehow, the delivery vehicle: a booklet in this case, was found to be run-of-the-mill (something the officials & bureaucrats receive day in and day out). Besides, once the booklet is opened and read, it would be forgotten. We wanted a delivery vehicle that would engage the reader on a daily basis. So Design & People came up with the idea of a Year/Wall Planner, which had the calendar, enough space for images, space for one to scribble notes, and all the laws neatly placed at the bottom in a very readable format. This way we ensured that the Information stayed on the reader's wall for 365 days. And we got ActionAid! to foot the printing bill!
SINCE 1999, Friends of Tibet had its online presence in a free site with just one webpage announcing the Festival of Tibet 2000. Organisation had its own difficulties in hosting a mega website with almost no resources and manpower. The final decision was either to have an elaborate website which is updated regularly or not to have one. The Tibet Support Group requires a website which talks about the organisation and its worldwide activities for an independent Tibet.
Friends of Tibet is the first patron of Design & People and the Friends of Tibet website is probably one of the first projects of Design & People. A small team of Design & People Designers with guidance from James Walker, the 'Cyberwallah for Tibet and East Turkistan', developed the website. Many social networking tools are used to make the site for networking with its members and supporters from all over the world, especially those who are living in occupied-Tibet and People's Republic of China. Today the Friends of Tibet website — www.friendsoftibet.org. Design & People considers Friends of Tibet website one of its most successful projects as it succeeded in getting the website banned in mainland China in the year 2002. The website and the information in it updated almost every day remain closed for millions of Internet users inside Tibet and China.
+ Friends of Tibet: Website
PRATYASHA is a support group for children with cancer — a helping hand for families of children and young people with cancer. Under the aegis of Paediatric Oncology Division of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at Trivandrum, Kerala, a support group — Pratyasha was formed in April 2003 to support the affected families during illness and its treatment regime and also afterwards. One of the major obstacles to their activities is the shortage of funds to take care of more than 30 children at a time. The organisation depends entirely on donations from their own members and supporters. Pratyasha needs a permanent solution to the crisis and needs better ways to generate funds regularly.
Carolina Montesinos, a Design & People volunteer working on a design assignment of Nachair Vidyalayam School at Pollachi, Tamil Nadu comes up with a solution. The Design & People volunteer proposes greeting cards to be prepared by the students of Nachair Vidyalayam to generate funds for the children cancer victims of the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum. This beautiful idea of children in one corner of the country working to support child patients on the other side they have never seen was finally coordinated and executed by the Design & People volunteer by spending several weeks at Pollachi School to work on the school requirements and also to convert the idea into a reality. Pratyasha continues to sell greeting cards to generate funds.
BUDDHA Smiles, an organisation of volunteer-teachers working towards providing non-formal education from non-formal sites from ten different locations in the country, decided to get themselves a home — a school of their own, situated at the Kurumbapalayam village in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. The project of the school had a much larger vision than imparting formal education alone to the students of that and other villages around. The almost barren land amidst the rock hills of Vellore had to be worked on to yield again, and the students and teachers were envisaged as participating in a whole micro-climate created through practices of permaculture, natural building and cattle rearing.
The Buddha Smiles project provided a fertile occasion for the architects from the Design & People volunteer pool to extend their skills. Over the past few years, the team has made participation in the Buddha Smiles annual Pongal time camp on permaculture and natural building into something of an event. We would, in relayed groups, stay at site for over a month and influence the building activities taking place through the camp a dining hall, class rooms, a common toilet block and a cattle shed). This way, we have also tried to organise the site as a whole with a view towards creating a master plan for the campus and trying to formalise an alternative and sustainable building system for the site using local and sometimes unconventional building materials.
PRATYASHA is a support group for children with cancer — a helping hand for families of children and young people with cancer. Under the aegis of Paediatric Oncology Division of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at Trivandrum, Kerala, a support group — 'Pratyasha' was formed in April 2003 to support the affected families during illness and its treatment regime and also afterwards. The organisation needs a presence in the World Wide Web to spread their message and also to raise funds for their activities to support the victims and their families.
Pratyasha is a Malayalam word, meaning 'Hope'. The Design & People spent time understanding the activities of the organisation and their exact requirements. Many members of the Pratyasha who are family members of victims, now dedicated to the charity activities did not really know the possibilities of having an online presence. Design & People developed a friendly, colourful website instead of a gloomy one. Because it is all about hope. The Pratyasha website: www.praytashaforchildren.org, was inaugurated by Berlin-based Social Designer Sandy Kaltonborn at the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum on December 28, 2004 during his visit to Kerala to workshop on 'Design Is Not Enough' organised by Design & People.
FRIENDS of Tibet is a Tibet Support Group based in India with chapters worldwide. The organisation needs a powerful and direct poster which could be distributed among international Tibet Support Groups and among the Tibetan community in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Europe and the United States and used during protest rallies and demonstrations.
There are hundreds of posters are being for the Tibet cause and are easily available in almost all democratic countries. But there is no single poster which asks the Chinese military to get out of Tibet. A small number of Design & People designers do a research on former political prisoners — executed, detained and in exile. After a joint research with the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) in Dharamshala, Design & People finalises on 50 faces of Tibetan freedom fighters who are executed, in detention or in exile in India. 'China, Get Out of Tibet' is one of the first posters designed by Design & People for Friends of Tibet and the poster is one of the largely circulated Tibet posters worldwide.
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