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Chintan Wastepickers Quilt

Background

Busy Hands: Children paint onto recycled fabric at the Ghazipur center in Delhi to make their squares for the Chintan Wastepicker’s Quilt.

The panels for this quilt were painted onto cloth by children of wastepickers in New Delhi, and assembled by quilters in Rhode Island, under the leadership of Allison Wilbur. AP has produced a set of greeting cards on the quilt, which can be purchased here.

The project was initiated by 2011 Peace Fellow Clara Kollm in the summer of 2011, while she was volunteering at the Chintan Environmental Action and Research Group in New Delhi. Chintan advocates for the rights of wastepickers and runs a program specifically for children, called No Child in Trash. The goal is to take children out the trash and into school.

Clara met with children in the program, and got them interested in the idea. She then sorted through piles of recycled clothing in the Badapour slum community and purchased several pieces of fabric which she cut up into squares. The children then used magic marker pens to paint on the fabric and tell their story. They provide an explanation on this inner page. Many of their designs feature the weather. The young artist are profiled on the AP website, and at the exhibit.

Square deal: Clara Kollm, Peace Fellow, purchased material for the quilt and oversaw the making of squares at the Ghazipur center.

Back in the United States, the children’s drawings were assembled by quilter Allison Wilbur at her home in Rhode Island. The Chintan Wastepickers’ Quilt was first displayed at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

In January 2013, it then went on display at Kean University, where it attracted much interest from students.

Click here for more photographs from the Kean University event.

Bharati Chaturvedi, the founder and director of Chintan, visited AP in Washington and saw the wastepicker’s quilt for the first time since its assembly. Bharati is shown with Karin Orr from AP.

On Display at Kean in January 2013.

On Display at Kean: Laura Jones, from AP, discusses waste-picking with students from Kean University at the opening of the quilt exhibition in January 2013.

Artists

	Aimeera When asked why she drew her panel, Aimeera (Age 11) said, “I like to draw the India flag and houses.”
	Ajeet Kumar When asked why he drew his panel, Ajeet (Age 12) said, “I drew pictures of the Lotus flower (national flower) and the India Flag because I love my country.”
	Alameen Young boy in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Babita When asked why she drew hes panel, Babita (age 12) said, “I love playing with dolls so I drew a picture of a doll.”
	Dilip When asked why he drew his panel, Dilip (Age 12) said, “I drew the picture of Hunumanji because I pray to him and I’m a devotee of Hanumanji.”
	Kajal When asked why she drew her panel, Kajal (Age 11) said, “I live in Ghazipur, I drew a picture of a scenery with trees and flowers because I want to live in a place with trees, flowers and river.”
	Parjana When asked why she drew her panel, Parjana (age 10) said, “I love drawing dogs.”
	Rahul When asked why he drew his panel, Rahul (age 9) said, “I like drawing trees so I have drew a pictures of trees.”
	Ravi When asked why he drew his panel, Ravi (age 14) said, “I drew the rain because it gives us good harvest.”
	Santos Kumar When asked why he drew his panel, Santos (age 10) said, “I drew a picture of a boy bathing in the rain because kids like to bathe in the rain.”

	Sitara When asked why she drew her panel, Sitara (Age 14) said, “I drew the picture of trees and plants because it gives us oxygen.”
	Tara When asked why she drew her panel, Tara (Age 12) said, “I drew the sun because when it rises it looks very beautiful, I drew the cloud because it gives us rain and I drew a tree because it shades.”
	Young boy in Ghazipur School Young boy in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young boy in Ghazipur School Young boy in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young boy in Ghazipur School Young boy in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young boy in Ghazipur School Young boy in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young girl in Ghazipur School Young girl in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young girl in Ghazipur School Young girl in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.
	Young girl in Ghazipur School When asked why she drew her panel, she (age 10) said, “I like drawing flags so I have drawn a flag.”
	Young girl in Ghazipur School Young girl in Chintan’s No Child in Trash Program at the Ghazipur School.

Poster

This poster can be downloaded and printed. Click on the image below.