In November 2006, Transrural staff met tsunami survivors along the coast of Galle district, to discuss their priorities and assess how they were coping with the aftermath of the tsunami and the effects of conflict elsewhere in the country. We also saw for ourselves how well-intentioned support can have unexpected consequences. In one region, we were told how the supply of brand new Nordic shipping boats had resulted in a depletion of fish stocks, because the new boats were so much more efficient that the battered wrecks they replaced.
Patchwork is one of the options that the women amongst our target population are trying out in order to restore their livelihoods. Sri Lanka has a long tradition of intricate sewing, based initially on painstaking lacework from before and during the colonial era. In recent times, a textile industry has developed, with factories around Colombo that supply shops such as Marks and Spencer. People in more remote coastal locations are unable to benefit from such development. However, waste material and seconds from the textile industry can be used creatively to make a host of patchwork items. Many women along the tsunami-hit coastal zone already possess basic patchwork skills. What they lack is an understanding of what colour combinations, designs and products might sell - to tourists, in the capital Colombo, or via Fair Trade outlets. They also need assistance in developing links to, and negotiating with, suppliers of raw material; help in organising effective community-based enterprises; training in special techniques and quality control; and small grants to match their own savings for buying sewing machines. Perhaps most importantly, they need ready access to design input and to marketing opportunities. The number of possible colour combinations and product types is virtually endless. Perhaps patchwork duvets, cushion covers or snake-shaped door stops will hit that market niche. The design and test marketing inputs should tell us that.
From 2009-11, Transrural plans to provide this support to an estimated 300 “beneficiaries”. Depending on the results achieved, dissemination using radio, interviews, and television is planned in 2012. We operate not only through local non-profit organisations, but also directly through leading practitioners in the patchwork business. While we mainly deploy local specialists, we also plan to run design competitions, in which individuals from the UK, Sri Lanka or elsewhere have the opportunity to contribute ideas and designs that can be tried, tested and adapted by the local communities themselves. We think that design is a key field in which external volunteers can play a really useful role in small enterprise development. If you might be interested in participating or contributing, let us know.