This interpretation is not about designing one permanent center. It is about creating multiple centers, some static, some dynamic. It is about embracing the impermanent, kinetic nature of interpretation. For design to bring meaning to the nuanced and complex socio-ecological systems at play in the TBCR, we claim a multitude of scales and experiences need to be recentered. It is a system that is run by the locals, for the locals, and is of the locals through engagement, inputs, and interactions with people of different genders, age groups, and skills. It leverages the existing social fabrics, skills, opportunities. It is partially open to visitors on occasions - festive, cultural, and religious.
This project is not about shaping a permanent center.
It is but about embracing the impermanent, kinetic nature of interpretation. For design to bring meaning to the nuanced and complex socio-ecological systems at play in the TBCR, we claim a multitude of scales and experiences need to be recentered.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?
Village Location
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli Demographics
Population: 3,077,233
Hinduism -- 78.83%
Islam -- 9.86 %
Christianity -- 11.12%
Men --1,333,93
Women -- 1,520,912
Village Area
4,500 square kilometers
Village Population ~ 450 families
WALK WITH US
We learned many things from our own experience of walking with our ATREE partners under the hot and humid weather during our trip with you all, seeing the dry fields waiting for the monsoon, meeting the village women occupied in their everyday routines, and the cheerful children running around. With Sanmadi and Teresa, we walked through the three clusters of the Thiruppudaimaruthur village and engaged with men and women to get a sense of the excitement and struggles in their everyday lives. We noted the presence of a strong social fabric of women through the activity of beedi rolling which is a health hazard but a major source of income for most women. During our visit with Antony and kids, we observed how much fun children had when engaging in treasure hunts and fun activities to learn about the ecological landscape of the region. We also noticed the other tangible and intangible issues of accessibility, transportation, waste management.
We also learned from the journey that we took with our partners from ATREE - Sanmadhi and Teresa - to understand and document and interview people on two different days. This journey was focussed on the entire village for our project which includes the three hamlets that make up this villageThiruppudaimaruthur, RVP colony, and Seethaparapallanur.
THROUGH THE HAMLETS
DAY 01
On day 1, we walked through hamlet 1, its temple grounds, the TBCR site, the streets of the hamlet - making some stops at the playground near the river, underutilised public infrastructure, women’s social groups, the school of children which is the only school for all three hamlets, and the famous Tea house.
Day 2 was more about conversations with the local people - both men and women. We learned about how their struggles, challenges, economic activities, and opportunities. So, for instance, we learned from a conversation with the customers at the famous tea house that its a place where men drink tea and hang out while women just get takeaways. We also ran into a women’s self help group distributing two plant saplings to every household. Local women in the social groups shared their only form of leisure is watching TV, and most of them engage in beedi/tobacco rolling as a source of everyday income. Some women engage in farming in certain seasons but beedi rolling remains their main source of income.
ACTORS AND ACCESSIBILITY
Among the most prominent observations we made during our trip, and which was also backed up by our partners from ATREE, is the lack of accessibility throughout the village. While men have more access to village amenities and the natural and cultural values there, the women and the children have much less access. And while the villagers in hamlet 1 have the most access to these same amenities and values, the villagers in hamlets 2 and 3 tend to be moreneglected.
ATREE Report: Brief Overview on Thirupudaimaruthur Community-Based Ecotourism Project (Teresa and Sanmadi, 2024)
COULD THE INTERPRETATION CENTER FOR TBCR BE A MOVING VEHICLE THAT GIVES AND GATHERS INFORMATION OR INTERVENTION OR INTERPRETATION?
Through our observations, we wonder how the interpretation center is able to collect all these cues? How can it remain accessible and representative? How can we enlist the participation of the many so that interpreting becomes a process in contact flux? Could be a mobile infrastructure that is an interpretation center but also something that addresses critical issues of infrastructure and tensions of society, economy, pollution, accessibility, and ecology. We focused on the entire village for our project including the three hamlets. Our moving mobile interpretation has three components that have different functions and a fair amount of flexibility in what they can offer. These components are Wonder Women, Champion Children, and Mission Impossible.
CHALLENGES OF SIMILAR MOBILE PROGRAMS
But what are the pros and cons of similar approaches of moving infrastructures? We recognized that there would be a lot of positives to using such structures, however there are some negatives too that must be taken into consideration for our proposal. While projects of a similar nature are portable, cost-efficient, and tend to be quick to install and easy to learn, they also offer some challenges that we aim to address in our proposal. Mobile infrastructures are typically more fragile than permanent ones and so they easily deteriorate, a problem mainly of maintenance. They also tend to turn into business models that individuals take advantage of and utilize for personal benefit, while the locals slowly fade out of the pictures.
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
This mobile system is very intentionally designed to encourage training and building capacities of local people in a way that makes it resilient and adaptable. Once funding is secured from companies, international, or national organisations - local NGOs such as ATREE and women’s self help groups work together to train and encourage local people to take control and run the system with minimal guidance. Local people are trained to drive and assemble the system. In this system, local leaders would be identified and approached for guidance on how to assemble and run the trucks. The idea is for this mobile system to be of the user, by the user, and for the user.
1 2
WONDER WOMEN CHAMPION CHILDREN
Interpreting education and play through hands on learning experiences. A space for sensory learning and exposure…
Interpreting the social landscape socialisation and recording oral narratives, entertainment (movies) having engaging tailoring…
MISSING MOBILE 3
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
by providing a space for narratives, a space for engaging workshops (cooking,
Interpreting the tensions in the context that the bus stops in (whether the 3 hamlets, or other villages along the river), as well as encourage the users to take action…
1
Wonder Women is the part of this mobile infrastructure that focuses on short term and long term issues that women face in the village. This system of mobile infrastructure is designed to leverage the powerful social infrastructure of women that already exists whether its self help groups or social groups of women which now engage in beedi rolling and more. This system aims to be something that is run by, for, and of women. This mobile truck contains an assembly of components that can be arranged in different configurations to allow for various activities to happen in and around them.
THE WONDER THAT WOMEN ARE!
WHAT IS BEING INTERPRETED?
Interpreting the social landscape by providing a space for socialization and recording oral narratives, a space for entertainment (movies) having engaging workshops (cooking, tailoring…
WHO IS DOING THE INTERPRETATION?
Women and Tourists
THE WONDER THAT WOMEN ARE!
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? WHY?
Women are not given access for leisure. Therefore the mission of this truck is bring leisure opportunities to them.
WHO WILL MANAGE THIS TRUCK?
The truck will be run by women. The driver will be a woman and the women in the village will be the ones who determine what happens, when, and what is on display. It is a truck for women, by women.
SUGGESTING ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIES TOWARDS A BETTER PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
ACCESSIBILITY TO ENTERTAINMENT,
INFRASTRUCTURE,
INTERPRETATION OF SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ARTISTIC, ECONOMIC
LIVES OF WOMEN
This diagram shows the deconstruction of this mobile vehicle which is made up of simple components capable of being configured in ways that can be facilitators of different activities.
DECONSTRUCTING THE MOBILE
SCREEN
POLE
There are 3 simple components - a screen, a pole that can be used in multiple ways, and a bench that can be used as a shelf, a bench, or even a pole stand when inverted.
COMPONENTS OF WONDER WOMEN
UPRIGHT BENCHES FOR SHELVES
UPTURNED BENCHES FOR POLE STAND
MOVING: GIVING AND GATHERING
SKILL SHARING
CONFIGURATION
STATIC: DEPLOYED AND EXHIBITING STORE
Moving onto configurations, these configurations are of two kindsone is the dynamic kind which moves and engages with women - it gives and gathers
The other one is static which will be deployed at the TBCR site which is more for interaction with the visitors For every dynamic configuration, there is a corresponding static configuration that is deployed or displayed at site.
So, for instance, a skill sharing configuration between women where they exchange different skill sets that they already have and then the products that are produced from them are displayed at the static TBCR configuration as an exhibition or store for visitors to see and buy. This also adds an additional source of income for them to encourage a deviation from beedi rolling because of its serious health and environmental implications.
MOVING:
GIVING AND GATHERING
STORY SHARING
Similarly, a session of sharing stories orally or physically through belongings could translate into a women curated display at the static TBCR site for display.
CONFIGURATION
STATIC: DEPLOYED AND EXHIBITING
STORY FOREST
MOVING: GIVING AND GATHERING SCREENING
And finally, screenings for entertainment for women around their houses or informational screenings at TBCR about women and their lives could also be done through this mobile infrastructure.
SOCIALIZATION
CONFIGURATION
Here is a collage that shows how an existing social fabric could be leveraged to do one of these configurations or what a deployed mobile infrastructure in their social groups look like.
Champion Children is about interpreting education and play through hands-on learning experiences which is a space for sensory learning and exposure. It is attempting to make knowledge and play more accessible. ATREE’s existing programs bring students to 5 highlighted landscapes of the watershed region namely, Kurinji, Mullai, Marutham, Palai, and Neithal. These programs enable these students to learn about the landscapes and organisms through hands-on experiences. But there are many children who find themselves unable to participate in these programs so how can this knowledge of landscapes and experiences through imagination and play be brought to the children? This mobile system suggests a partnership with ATREE’s existing program and knowledge that can activate existing sites, schools, and playgrounds as well as becoming its own site as landscapes are presented as PLAYscapes that are interactive and engaging.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR CHAMPION CHILDREN!
WHAT IS BEING INTERPRETED?
Interpreting education and play through hands on learning experiences. A space for sensory learning and exposure…
WHO IS DOING THE INTERPRETATION?
Children + Parents + Tourists
SOMETHING FOR YOUR CHAMPION CHILDREN!
WHO WILL MANAGE THIS TRUCK?
The truck will be run by locals and by members of ATREE. ATREE has expertise in children’s educational programs as well as an established connection with the locals in the village, all which can be utilized for the mission of this truck.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? WHY?
Children are the target audience.
There is a lot of knowledge about the TBCR and about the natural values and the landscapes around the river that is not disseminated properly. With ATREE’s expertise in the educational programs for children, this truck can be a means of spreading the knowledge about the landscapes and natural values of the TBCR to them in an easy and accessible way.
Utilizing ATREE’s existing programs that bring students to these 5 highlighted landscapes - Allowing these students to learn about the landscapes and organisms through hands on experiences. How can this knowledge and experiences through imagination and play be brought to the children? Landscapes to PLAYscapes. Partnering with ATREE’s existing program and knowledge. This mobile can activate existing sites schools playgrounds as well as becoming its own site.
Champion Children: transforms education by turning landscapes into playscapes. Partnering with ATREE’s programs, these mobile playscapes bring learning and play to schools, playgrounds, and other everyday spaces. Offering sensory experiences that engage children and their guardians with the ecology and stories of their surroundings.
The mission truck focuses on some of the tensions in the village that are worth bringing to the light and interpreting. These may include for example the waste management issue mentioned several times during our trip as well as in the research you’ve kindly shared with us. The truck may also choose to take on other topics of tension or conflict in the village like the harms of beedi-rolling, missing infrastructures, or lack of accessibility to the existing ones.
WHAT IS BEING INTERPRETED?
Interpreting the tensions in the context that the bus stops in (whether the 3 hamlets, or other villages along the river), as well as encourage the users to take action…
CONFLICT
CONFLICT
WHO IS DOING THE INTERPRETATION?
Men + Women + Youth + Tourists
MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE!
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? WHY?
Men, women, and youth.
Like any place in the world, there are certain tensions and conflicts in the village. Everyone in the village is responsible for the space they live in and this truck gives them a space to interpret these conflicts and issues, and gives them the opportunity to express themselves and start to take action.
WHO WILL MANAGE THIS TRUCK?
The truck will be manages by locals and by ATREE. The locals should be empowered to make a difference in their communities, and ATREE is an institution that has expertise and connections with governmental entities that will be necessary in executing some of
These may include for example the waste management issue mentioned several times during our trip as well as in the research shared with us my ATREE. The truck may also choose to take on other topics of tension or conflict in the village like the harms of beedi-rolling, missing infrastructures, or lack of accessibility to the existing ones.
What could these tensions be?
We learnt from ATREE’s existing research and feasibility study that the
ATREE Report: Thirupudaimaruthur Community-Based
Ecotourism Project
A Detailed Socio-Ecological of
H o w t o A d d r e s s T e n s i o n
CONFLICTORIUM IN AHMEDABAD, INDIA
CONFLICTORIUM In Ahmedabad, India
BUT HOW TO ADDRESS CONFLICT WITH RESPECT?
We decided to draw inspiration from one of the case studies we looked into earlier in studio: the Conflictorium in Ahmedabad, where certain conflicts were shed light on and visitors were encouraged at some points to participate and leave notes, thoughts, and even apologies if they wanted to.
EMPTY SHELVES HALF
+ HALF
That said, we introduce a certain set of components that can be configured in different ways to promote different opportunities of interpretation.
COMPONENTS
COMBINATION SOLID BASKET
PROJECTION RESOURCES
APOLOGY FACT CHECK
These activities can include an opportunity for a projection, providing relevant resources to the topic, games, an artist’s installation, a moment of self check, fact check, or even a physical apology left behind, or space to simply converse and express one’s self.
CONFIGURATIONS
GAMES ART INSTALLATION
SELF CHECK CONVERSATION
This creates an opportunity for both locals and possibly tourists to come together, assemble, and even participate in the conversations brought up by the truck around a particular topic they find important and relevant to them.
We speculate that these three systems could be happening periodically whether daily, weekly, or monthly and at different locations. Here is a map that shows some suggestive locations which are based on our experiences and interactions during the October trip with you all. There are also moments where all three could be happening at the same time near the river.
WHAT ABOUT EMERGENCIES?
“WHILE THE
TAMIRAPARANI LANDSCAPE, IN GENERAL, APPEARS WATER-RICH, IT FACED SEVERE DROUGHT IN 2016 DESPITE THE DIVERSE WATER STORAGE SYSTEMS IN PLACE. IN 2021, IN A CONTRASTING SITUATION, TAMIRAPARANI WAS IN SPATE.”
WHAT ARE THE PROBABLE EMERGENCIES?
Natural
Environmental
Health-Related
Other
WHAT’S NEEDED FOR THAT EMERGENCY?
Proper supplies/medicine
Proper supplies/medicine
Proper supplies/medicine Fire equipment
EMERGENCIES + NEEDS
WHAT MUST THE TRUCK DO AND WHERE MUST IT STOP?
Taking food + water to the temple
Taking food + water to the temple
Taking food + water to the hamlets
Transform into a cooling center for people in the hamlets
Provide supplies/medicine/experts in urban centers
Provide supplies/medicine/experts in urban centers
Provide supplies/medicine/experts in urban centers
Quick transfer people from location of fire to urban center
EMERGENCY INFRASTRUCTURE
A NETWORK OF PHYSICAL MOBILE INFRASTRUCTURE
WHAT WILL THE MISSING MOBILE PROVIDE? AND WHICH EMERGENCY
EMERGENCIES + NEEDS
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MIGHT THIS BENEFIT?
EMERGENCY INFRASTRUCTURE
A NETWORK OF SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
In conclusion, this project is about addressing the missing mobile infrastructure that helps in ways that empower women, educate children, and create awareness on critical issues. It is an attempt to bring the Interpretation center to the people. This project is about shifting and shaping a multitude of centers.
