Say ‘hi’ to Covida. This plump little doll with a string of beads around her neck and a smiling face brings some cheer amid the pandemic gloom. And that is what its makers intend to.
Made by Lambadi tribal women artisans, this scrap doll is a symbol of hope and healing. The Porgai Artisans Association in the Sittilingi valley in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu, gave life to Covida to inspire a sense of positivity in these troubled times.
A nomadic tribe, which is believed to have its origins in north-western India, travelled to the southern peninsula, settling down in parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The women of the tribe have a unique tradition of embroidery, which is thriving in Sittilingi today, thanks to the formation of the Porgai Artisans Association, a collective that empowers the women to earn through their craft.
The artisans association was formed in 2006 under the leadership of Dr Lalitha Regi, who along with husband Dr Regi George, set up a Tribal Health Initiative in the valley in 1992, offering basic health facilities in the remote area, where access to health care was a challenge.
- This is not the first time that we have seen dolls emerge from a calamity. Designer, entrepreneur and social activist Uma Prajapati came out with Tsunamika, a scrap doll, in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck the Indian coastline in 2004. She involved the fisher women in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, whose lives had been devastated by the tsunami. Hundreds of women were trained to make these dolls out of leftover fabric. Tsunamika’s became a story of hope and survival. Sixteen years later, at least six million dolls have travelled to over 80 countries. You can buy Tsunamika at www.tsunamika.org.
- When the August 2018 floods ravaged Kerala, social entrepreneurs Lakshmi Menon and Gopinath Parayil thought of a way to make use of the large quantities of Chendamangalam saris that were destroyed in the deluge. Chendamangalam Kutty, aka Chekutty, thus became the mascot of a resilient Kerala. The weaving communities of Chendamangalam in Ernakulam district thus received support through the sale of Chekutty. Buy Chekutty at www.chekutty.in.
A registered society, Porgai (which means pride in the Lambadi language), today has over 60 women, in different age groups, the oldest being 75-year-old Jumma. “She still embroiders, I wonder how,” says Dr Lalitha, with a laugh. The women make garments, home décor, hand bags, jewellery and more, which are sold directly through its website.
“Though they don’t make fat profits, they make enough to get by,” says Dr Lalitha. “We had fairly good sales until last year,” she adds.
However, since the lockdown, the artisans have had no work or income. They could not source fabric even from their usual suppliers. “We had to keep giving these women some work, we had to generate income,” says Dr Lalitha. “All we had left were cloth scraps, which we had saved for upcycling. We decided to sort them out and do something with them,” she says.
The bits and pieces of cloth were stitched together to make larger patches, which could have been converted to garments. “But we wanted to respond to the pandemic. We wanted to bring something positive out of this depressing situation. The doll, we thought, could be a link connecting all of us in these extraordinary times,” says Dr Lalitha.
Thus, Covida was born.
These dolls are affordable and come in pouches of 10, 25, 50 and 100. Each Covida has been priced at ₹20. Each weighs about 50 grams and takes about half an hour to make.
She comes with a safety pin attached to her, which makes it easy to pin her up to a card or fabric.
For information, log on to porgai.org. To order the dolls, WhatsApp 9786743223.