SEL provided human resource and on ground support to a FEL (Foundation for Endangered Languages) funded project in organizing two workshops during 19th April to 25th April 2018.

The stated objectives of the project were:

• To re-introduce Raji script developed by Kavita Rastogi to present generation of Raji speakers of Kimkhola and Jamtadi hamlets.
• To teach and encourage use of Raji script among Raji school students.
• To help students create plaques of family names using non-expensive material, written in Raji.
• To involve mothers of participating school students in a parallel workshop of jewellery making.
• To create a bilingual instruction manual in Raji script and Hindi of how to make traditional Raji neck-jewelry.

Our team worked with students from Rajakiya Ashram Paddhati Uchchatar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Baluwakot, Pithoragarh to achieve the first objective of re-introduction of the Raji script. Over a period of four days, students played games designed to encourage script usage, practiced writing and finally, created ‘name plates’, i.e., wooden plaques carrying their and the village’s name to be displayed outside their homes. They designed their name plates as per their wishes and on the final day, members of our team went with a few selected students to nail these name plates outside their homes.

For the second stage of the workshop, working women were identified with the help of local personnel and resource persons from within the community who were willing to help us. These women were approached with the pitch that their traditional jewelry could be an alternative source of income for the community, and we were there to encourage its making and creating a knowledge bank about the production of the same. A resource person was identified as the one who would be giving the training and instructions on how to make the necklaces and the workshops were conducted over the next three days with six women from the Kimkhola and Gana Gaon hamlets. We were able to finish four pieces since the process is complicated and time-taking. A detailed instruction booklet containing steps to create a basic piece was also developed.