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HomeFeaturesBhoomika & Chekutty, the handmade dolls helping Kerala’s flood-hit get back on...

Bhoomika & Chekutty, the handmade dolls helping Kerala’s flood-hit get back on their feet

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The dolls are inspired by the Tsunamika, which helped Tamil Nadu’s fisherfolk recover from the 2004 tsunami.

Bengaluru: The miniature Tsunamika dolls helped a battered fishing community in Tamil Nadu recover from the 2004 tsunami, which robbed thousands of not just their loved ones, but also their livelihood and homes.

Eleven years later, they have inspired rehabilitation efforts in neighbouring Kerala as it struggles to get back on its feet after the August floods.

Meet Chekutty and Bhoomika, two striking handmade dolls helping Kerala’s flood-hit send out a message of empowerment, resilience, and love.

A doll called hope

The Tsunamika project, managed by a non-profit called Upasana based in Auroville, Puducherry, has helped provide livelihood to fisherwomen affected by the tsunami.

Girl holding a Bhoomika doll | By special arrangement
Girl holding a Bhoomika doll | By special arrangement

These dolls are never sold, but gifted — people take the dolls and contribute whatever sum they wish to towards the project. Nearly five million Tsunamikas have been made to date, with the project employing close to 600 women.

Its two Kerala counterparts, meanwhile, are sold — Chekutty for roughly Rs 10 each and Bhoomika for Rs 501. While the former is made of cloth damaged in the floods, Bhoomika is fashioned from industrial waste.


Also read: 80 years before Kerala floods, Mahatma Gandhi blamed caste system for natural disasters


The handmade dolls, a symbol of strength and a source of employment for hundreds of women across the state, have gained tremendous popularity through social media.

While Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has promised to engage the state women’s empowerment initiative Kudumbashree in the crafting of Chekutty, Bhoomika’s fans include Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra, both of whom have taken one home.

Chekutty, Kerala’s mascot of hope

The term Chekutty is derived from the words cheru (meaning soil) and kutty (meaning child), and this tiny yet powerful symbol of solidarity is being made with damaged handloom material sourced from the weaving village of Chendamangalam.

The close to 600 weavers of the village, which is located close to Ernakulam, was busy preparing for the harvest festival of Onam when the floods struck and destroyed their homes and looms.

In the aftermath, reams of fabric lay tattered, wet and useless. All of it would have gone to waste or been burnt had it not been for two entrepreneurs, Lakshmi Menon and Gopinath Parayil, who have been regular visitors to the village.

Moved by the sight of the damaged looms and soiled sarees, they decided to upcycle the products to help the weavers regain their confidence.

Chekutty has scars and stains, say the makers, but each doll represents each survivor of the floods.

“Initially, we thought we will get the dolls made by the weavers themselves, but when we tried to train them, it turned out they do not know how to stitch,” said Menon, a fashion designer.

“So we came up with Chekutty as it does not need any sort of stitching. Gopi and I decided we will try crowdsourcing and send the money to the weavers’ cooperative societies so that they can rebuild the handloom industry of Chendamangalam,” she added.

Speaking to The Print, Menon said the project had turned out to be a profitable venture for the weavers as they were able to create close to 360 Chekkuttys with a six-yard saree that would earn them Rs 1,500.

 Tsunamika dolls | Special arrangement
Chekutty dolls | Special arrangement

“As of now, we have taken orders worth Rs 14 lakh. Orders have been coming in from India and other countries as well,” said Menon, “A total of 50,000 Chekkuttys have been made till now and we will begin dispatching them soon.”

Ajith Kumar, the secretary of the Chendamangalam Karipadam Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society, said the initiative had saved their industry, which lost close to Rs 20 lakh in the floods.

“It will help rebuild our lives and provide for the weavers. Chekutty is now a world icon,” he added.

Mother’s nature child Bhoomika

Bhoomika, made from industrial waste, seeks to represent how Kerala can rebuild itself with sustainable energy. Bhoomika rides on a handmade boat to send a message that tragedies strike but they too will pass.

Sobha Vishwanath, the brain behind Bhoomika, is a Kochi-based fashion designer who has been providing employment to the women inmates of Nirbhaya shelters and Mahila Mandiram (state women’s shelter) through the doll.

“Bhoomika is the true daughter of Mother Earth and that’s why we named her so,” said Vishwanath, “If you see the doll, she has no lips as we want the person who owns Bhoomika to add the sentiment they want her to represent. The big red bindi represents hope.”

It has been designed with the help of her creative director friends Deepak and Varsha, and the team plans to invest the proceeds in installing water purifiers and solar panels across Kerala.


Also read: UAE should help Kerala on the ground, not just write a cheque


“In a day, we make close to 20 to 25 dolls and eight to ten women are part of the process,” said Akhila, a staffer working on the project. “But the most difficult part is to get the right expression on the doll. We want them to represent a smile… Since it does not have lips, the eyes speak for Bhoomika.”

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