GUWAHATI/IMPHAL
Crochet dolls made by the inmates of relief camps in ethnic conflict-scarred Manipur are set to go global.
1 Million Heroes, a multi-platform entertainment brand striving to make children across the globe smile, has undertaken a project to train Manipur’s internally displaced people in crocheting amigurumi dolls specifically for export.
The ethnic violence in the northeastern State, which broke out on May 3, has so far claimed the lives of more than 175 people, injured at least 1,108 and displaced 60,000 people. More than 4,780 houses have been set on fire.
The training in making amigurumi dolls is being imparted in five relief camps across Manipur, one of them in Thoubal district’s Khangabok housing 210 people.
Laishram Geeta Leima, a 36-year-old mother of three, is one of the trainees who hopes to sustain her family by producing the dolls on a larger scale. She had fled her home when armed miscreants attacked the Sugnu Awang Leikai village in the Kakching district on May 27.
“I have almost mastered the art, which is satisfying and productive as well. I hope the new skill would ensure a future for my children during and after such tough times,” she said.
Agom Sangeeta Leima, 48, who also fled her home in Sugnu, said the doll-making training has boosted her confidence by showing her a way to overcome financial challenges.
Trainers assigned by 1 million Heroes have been visiting the five relief camps since the first week of August, concentrating on five characters conceived as the first line of the global amigurumi doll brand – Buddy the pet dog, Mitten the cat, Raja the tiger, Oliver the bear and Bola the teddy bear.
Doll master trainer, Utpala Longjam said the training programme has been progressing well.
“It was not difficult to train as most of them knew the basics of crochet. We are teaching them the pattern and the right way to go about it. Once they become comfortable with the needle, the crochet, and the patterns, we would be providing them with the cotton yarns for the actual product,” she said.
Monish Karam, the founder of 1 Million Heroes, said the project germinated in Singapore where he was living when the violence started in May.
“We wanted to do something for the people back home to help rebuild their lives sustainably. The dolls were thought of because our women are quite good in handicraft and handloom,” he said.
“What they are producing are not mere dolls. We believe they are the symbol of hope and vessels of storytelling,” Mr Karam said, adding that 1 Million Heroes is handling the entire gamut from designing and supplying raw materials to marketing the products.
1 Million Heroes is also engaging with corporate houses to include the amigurumi dolls produced by the relief camp inmates as part of their CSR initiatives. Most of the proceeds will go to the dollmakers, the organisation said.
Apart from private enterprises, the Manipur State Rural Livelihoods Mission under the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has been focusing on relief camps for imparting training in livelihood activities.
The department’s programmes include making incense sticks, floor disinfectants, detergents, liquid dishwash, scrunchies, and paper bags. Officials said 184 relief camp inmates in the Imphal East district are now earning wages through such programmes.
“We will buy all the products made in the relief camps and release money (to the manufacturers) immediately,” P.K. Jha, the State’s Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Industries said.
