Written by: Hamna Husain
Posted on: August 09, 2019 | 
| 中文
Thatta Kedona
Located in a village 27 km away in the outskirts of Okara district, lies ‘Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka’. It is a place which instantly exudes the air of a well-managed and closely-knit village community. Most commonly known as Thatta Kedona (Urdu word for toy), it is a village development self-help project where toys are produced and designed by local women.
The mud walls of the ‘Kedona’ centre incorporate intricate clay patterns of flowers and designs. The inner courtyard has a cotton yarn located at its centre, which provides the basic cotton for the toys and fabric. Although the centre is famous for its dolls, it also produces hand-painted miniature rickshaws, and trucks.
Thatta has not always been known for its toys, but that changed in the 1990s. This was due the efforts of Amjad Ali, a young man from the village who briefly studied in Germany. He enthusiastically extended an invitation to his German Arts teacher, Dr. Senta Siller, to visit Thatta Ghulamka. Dr. Siller, joyously accepted the invitation, and she, along with her husband Dr. Norbert Pinsch, and came to stay in the village for a week. Although, their first trip was brief, the villagers converted them to regular guests with their love and hospitality.
As an arts teacher, she observed the local women’s keen interest in her work. These village women often made dolls out of cotton and yarn in their leisure time for their children. Dr. Siller taught these women advanced skills in embroidery and crafts-making so that the ladies may hone their craft. The women were quick learners, and were soon making beautiful dolls and traditional toys which depicted life from all over the country.
Dr. Siller stayed in the village with her students, and had soon developed an emotional connection with the women, their culture and village life. Her stays extended from weeks, to months, to years, and her devotion towards empowering the local women continued as time went by.
She would also travel around the country to pick up inspiration from various cultures of the country, and would come back to enlighten these women about new techniques, designs, and innovations. Soon, the village became a model village, in which the women played an active role in the organization of their own livelihoods, thus achieving financial stability and independence.
In 1993, Dr. Siller launched the Women Arts Center (WAC), which acted as a vocational training institute where the village women could learn the art of doll making. To facilitate the women’s endeavors, much of the thread, fabric and raw material were provided through funds from Dr. Siller. In turn, the women would take the materials home, so that family and field work was not compromised. Most of the women in the village continue to work in agriculture fields at daytime, and use doll-making as a way to wind down after a long day’s work.
All the dolls are handmade and dressed in traditional clothes from different regions such as the Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. The project received huge acclaim from the German community, and over 30 volunteers from Germany came to Thatta in the late 90s to volunteer. Presently, WAC regularly displays its work at Daachi in Lahore, and the German Embassy during Christmas time.
The village men were also trained by young German art students. They make miniature trucks and rickshaws by melting tin sheets, and hand painting them with patterns usually seen on showing our famous truck art. The process is extremely demanding, with one rickshaw requiring five hours’ worth of dedicated effort. These are then sold to shops for foreigners to take as a souvenir from Pakistan.
Currently, the arts center is being utilized by women micro-entrepreneurs to market their indigenous handicrafts. The number of working women who have joined the centre has increased substantially. Recently, in honor of Dr. Siller’s commitment and devotion to the village, the art center was renamed the Senta Siller Art Centre (SSAC). She is also affectionately referred to as “Mother of Dolls” by the villagers.
SSAC has created a generation of local women who are conscious of their country’s culture, as well as their individual abilities. Part of the income generated through the sale of these toys is directed towards buying raw material for the venture. The rest is dedicated towards the development of village schools, distribution of free books and the upkeep of the health care center. It is truly inspiring to think with the love and dedication of Dr. Senta Siller, something as small as a doll could bring a whole village together for the production of a unique handicraft.
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