Part -1 workshop on 10 November
I chose to first start within my community (residents of the Indian YMCA) not just see how the dynamics worked but also to personally gain confidence.
Most of the students were only free post dinner. So it went on till almost mid-night
Brief introduction of the topic and the workshop
Introduction to all the tools and looking around
Materials that they could work with
The workshop flowed so smoothly that gave me a huge amount of confidence to take a moment and observe the micro-interactions of trust that participants instill on each other.
Group effort that happened naturally to fix a shoe
The trust of letting someone else guide you and also to trust their method. This was actually pointed by one of the participants during the feedback session
It was time to sit around and talk about what they had done/ spoken / gotten to know about each other
As they discover that their belongings were fixed there was this shift in atmosphere of warmth and happiness.
Things I learnt:
Its better if the person within the community facilitates the workshop as they would have a better understanding of the needs and difficulties faced within the group.
Address the safety issues that they might face while participating in this workshop. Brief also about the first-aid facilities available.
Better to have more/wider range of materials and tools to work with.
I was surprised to know that people come in with the least expectations of the object being fixed
There follow-up form were provided after almost a week after the event
Have spare things to repair as not everyone might have objects to repair.
The following are some parameters that could denote the success of the workshop.