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Nature is undoubtedly the teacher who can inspire, nurture the teacher and the students sensibilities to a great extent. In an individual's engagement with nature, there arises a silent dialogue and non verbal understanding of the living world and its intricacies, order and patterns in it apart from understanding one's role in it. Its all the more for the young minds from pre and primary schools to devote a great deal of time in exploration.
In the present times when we are getting alienated from the lap of nature, it seems necessary for teacher and children to be able to feel natural materials and create for them experiential situations which nurture intuitive learning and which will also help the student and the teacher to explore, imagine and wonder. Here, with a group of women in the villages of Kanyakumari there is an attempt to revive traditional skills and create learning material for children.
Natural materials in their nature of simplicity and versatility offer great opportunities for joyful learning. The process of industrialization has replaced thousands of artisans and skilled persons whose craftsman ship delighted the user apart from nurturing aesthetics in one's life. One of the aim of the NGO is to revive the traditional skills and by innovation and design inputs help them to have sustainable livelihood.
A sample of the Educational material...
Gifts of Earth - is a range of educational material and functional objects designed with palm leaf. The leaf has taken beautiful forms in the hands of a gifted craftswoman in her engagement with natural materials.
FORM and DESIGN is a Design-making, visual kit, made of palm leaves and shells. The shapes which are mostly geometrical ones are made with palm leaf.
Creating rhythm and patterns in numerous compositions and ways, it enhances imagination and creativity in children. It offers an opportunity to feel natural materials and see various textures, colours and shapes. It also helps in understanding pattern making, spatial compositions and constructions. It is an open ended activity and can be played by oneself or with friends. You can create motifs, animals, jewellery, collage and many more things as you like. People of all ages will find different ways of engaging themselves with this kit.
This is made mainly by the women self help groups in Kanniyakumari, supported by THE CENTRE FOR COVENANT DEVELOPMENT (CCD) whose primary concern is conservation through sustainable livelihood. It also nurtures the feeling of care and respect for the raw material and the ecosystem. The proceeds of this will go to the SHGs which gives them an opportunity to enrich their livelihood craft.
TIC, TAC TOE - Made with palm leaf and shells, used for moves; the game can be played by 2 players. It is packed in a purse made of palm leaf and its size makes it easy to carry and play anywhere anytime!
Each player gets one chance to place his shell and has to try to get a line-either straight or diagonally...just like "nots and crosses".
Gift Of Ocean
PATTERNS AND SHAPES
The Palm leaf box is made, by the women in the villages of Kanniyakumari, supported by CCD. The box has many shells. Look at their forms, colours, textures and patterns. You can first sort them in the way you find them similar. (Think whether you would like to sort them based on their shapes or colours or textures or forms?) Then make sets of them and find out how many are there in each set. You will find some coloured chords inside the box. Make your own form with the chord. You can use the shells to make patterns with the chords or without it. Run your imagination and have a go!
More information on the above
More pictures
ABOUT CCD
Life in understanding with nature:
The Covenant Centre for Development (CCD), an NGO working with its headquarters at Madurai in Tamilnadu has facilitated conceptualization, formation and management of dynamic socio-economic enterprises that strengthen livelihood of rural communities.
In Kanyakumari, after tsunami CCD focused its efforts on neglected communities involving seashell, palm-leaves and other natural fibre based craft persons whose collective was later registered as a federation. The areas of attention in the present engagement of CCD with the local community include skill up-gradation, quality consciousness, drawing less from nature, adding creative value and production / productivity enhancement. Yet another major thrust of the on-going programme is to find alternate markets for such creatively value added artifacts.
Kanya Kumari Kalai Koodam (K4) is an institutional attempt in this regard to tap a niche market that appreciates and respects the values embedded in the products which are sensitively made from nature's gift in abundance. Vision to renew and sustain a rural livelihood that is based on locally available natural resources is gradually unfolding.
K4 has been working with rural women artisans who are skilled in Palm leaf weaving. They have made Functional and Decorative accessories, Educational learning material. Some of them are DESIGN KIT, TIC-TAC-TOE, CONSTRUCTION KIT, CHRISTMAS SET, ACQUARIUM, NUMBER BOARDS, TOPS, PATTERN MAKING, STITCHING KIT, PURSES, BANGLES, CURTAIN HOLDERS, SNAKES AND LADDERS, PALM TRAYS, SHELL GAMES AND COUNTERS, DUST BINS, CONTAINERS FOR ALL PURPOSES, JOODA PINS, SHELL JEWELLERY, TABLE MATS AND SO ON.
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