THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: School could be so much fun. If you decide to learn things from outside the textbooks too, that is. It is this fun and sharing of simple knowledge and putting it into practise that has resulted in a proud exhibition at Cotton Hills GHS. The handmade products exhibited by the upper primary students of Cotton Hill are not much in quantity, but tell a lot about the activities of the Gandhi Darshan Club in the school, under which 50 girls belonging to class V, VI and VII have produced various products ranging from detergents, washing soaps, sanitary lotions and toilet soaps. Students were been given training for the past two months under the guidance of the Convener of Gandhi Darshan Club, Priyakumari P S, who is a teacher in Hindi in the school. “We have started providing training to our students from June this year out of a sum of Rs 3,000 provided by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The methodology of making the products was provided by the Gandhi Darshan as part of the ‘Earn and Learn’ project. At first, I took the training for three days and then started coaching students,’’ she said.Students are trained during the interval time and around an hour after the school time. The indigenous raw materials are bought and are proportionately mixed and treated according to the process of making. Four varieties of toilet soaps in turmeric, grass oil, lotus and ‘thazhampoo’ fragrances cost Rs 13, detergent cake costs Rs 12, a one-litre bottle of lotion costs Rs 25, a 400-gram packet of detergent and scouring powder costs Rs 25 and Rs 10 respectively. The profit will be equally distributed among students so that they can spend it for their academic purposes. But the students have decided on something else. “We are happy to extend a helping hand to the poor and needy students so that they can buy learning materials”, Lakshmi T R, a student, said.Like any venture, it was not an easy path for them. It was difficult for them to procure sufficient bottles to fill lotion as the available fund was not that huge. So the teacher and students set out to pick used bottles of mineral water and soft drinks from available sources. The additional headmistress of the school, K K Urmila Devi, too made contributions.“We are planning to pour more money into this project out of the PTA after getting an overwhelming response from the students and parents. The students are benefited from this venture as they learn a technique to earn money,” said Mary Sislet Princela, Principal Headmistress of the school.Students have also put up posters and charts on Gandhiji’s life and messages at the exhibition.
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