This is not a punishment, says social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon of the 21-day lockdown. “We should not let Covid 19 take over our lives, so let’s make positivity viral.”
After the Prime Minister ordered a lockdown until April 14, she has created Coveed, a project in which people craft paper houses and post pictures of their homes, their paper homes and of them co-existing, co-living, co-cooking, and even co-fighting on the website Loka2020.in.
“The house is the safest place on earth. We can travel and live in the fanciest of resorts but the love and safety of a home is irreplaceable. It will be reaffirmed in this period of isolation,” says Lakshmi who has made four models of paper houses.
Lakshmi started the Coveed project on March 21 when 10,000 virtual plots went online for ₹25 each. “We allocate plots and share plot numbers, mark each area with a colour and share a screenshot with the owner. Its all done digitally. Based on that’, they send their art, which will be displayed on their plot and on the bigger Loka canvas,” says Lakshmi.
So far she has sold 6,044 plots in three days. With the money, they bought and distributed hand sanitisers to autorickshaw drivers, KSRTC bus drivers and street vendors. “They had bought a bottle for their homes but could not afford one on themselves,” says Kochi-based Lakshmi, who runs Pure Living, a social organisation, associated with SHOHM (Social Health One Health Movement) Trust. Lakshmi is also one of the brains behind the Chekutty dolls, which became a symbol of Kerala’s resilience and resurgence after the devastating floods of 2018.
Once social distancing came into force, Lakshmi asked her volunteers to stop public work and introduced a creative time pass for house-bound folks in an attempt to recognise and reaffirm the strength of co-existence.
She posted her idea at midnight after the PM’s speech with a demo video. “I selected an easy-to-do video of an origami papercraft house and have already begun receiving photos of paper houses.” She has received photos of houses that reflect people’s interests including some elaborate ones with gardens, fences and lawns.
After the Kerala Chief Minister’s declaration that nobody will go hungry during the lockdown period, Lakshmi added another dimension to the Coveed idea. “The measure of a Coveed is 18 x 6 cms. A rectangular paper of this area can hold 1/3 cup of rice or grain. In 21 days this amount will be quite substantial. Let people appreciate the joy of living inside the home,” says Lakshmi adding that the grains could be donated to an orphanage or old age home after the lockdown is lifted. “We are building a real community of togetherness, from the heart of our homes.”
Coveed can be accessed at Loka2020.in
