‘Dolls4Tibet - A positive change in the lives of Tibetan refugee and Himachali women’
Dolls4Tibet is an inspiring and meaningful social and micro-enterprise based in northern India that has touched the lives of many displaced Tibetan refugees and local Himachali women inside the Tibetan exiled community in Himachal Pradesh, India. Through the intricate art of doll making, this grassroots initiative aims to create life-changing economic opportunities for its doll makers, empowering them to become self-sufficient and promoting women's empowerment.
The seeds of Dolls4Tibet were first planted by Mona Bruchmann, a German national who had been living in Dharamshala, India, for a decade with her husband, Karma Sichoe, a Tibetan artist, activist and refugee, and their two beautiful children - Samdol & Rinchen. The inspiration arose when Bruchmann sought a Tibetan doll for her then two-year-old daughter Samdol, hoping to find a toy that reflected her Tibetan ethnicity. Unable to find one, she was sent a Waldorf doll-making book by a friend and began crafting a doll herself. In this process, she realized that doll-making could serve as a meaningful and gender specific livelihood and a pathway to economic independence for both Tibetan refugee and local Himachali women, allowing them a way to create something of value whilst preserving their cultural identity.
Deeply integrated into Tibetan society in India, Bruchmann and her family saw an opportunity to contribute to the Tibetan cause and struggle in exile. Dolls4Tibet was born from this vision, combining traditional Tibetan & Indian artistry with sustainable economic opportunities for women where each doll carries the spirit of heritage, resilience and renewal.
Every doll is also crafted with deep intention and reverence for the Waldorf Steiner philosophy, which believes that children’s toys should nurture the senses and inspire the soul. Additionally, Dolls4Tibet products are made from all natural materials, and are carefully designed with a softness, warmth, and beauty, honoring the philosophy’s belief in connecting our little children to the natural world.
More than a workshop, Dolls4Tibet is a sanctuary for earning, activism and art. It provides training, skills development, and dignified employment, while also nurturing cross-cultural understanding, social integration, and harmony within the community and beyond.
Dharamsala धर्मशाला Himachal Pradesh, India
A MILAM PROJECTS & Dolls4Tibet collaboration between 2011-2013, saw the social & micro-enterprise experience significant growth and development, with the workshop successfully increasing employment from two to eighteen women in its first year. A key outcome was the fostering of partnerships with OXFAM Australia and other local fair trade and distribution partners across Australia, which saw the workshop achieve a tripling of income in just over two and a half years. These efforts created pathways for the workshop to become economically viable in a global production network, that supported the social, political, and cultural fabric of such initiatives. Similarly, this network aimed to promote sustainable product design and produce positive social economic, and environmental outcomes that fed back into the local communities of these small-scale local makers.
Other project outcomes through key engagement from its key team members, its founders, and doll-makers, were the designs of a continuing line of new products; an e-commerce site; and, eventual relocation from a shared household living space to a public open-arts studio in the heart of the Tibetan exiled community, Dharamsala in north India.
Over this period, we initiated a research paper 'Dolls4Tibet Social & Micro Enterprise - A Positive Change in the Lives of Tibetan and Local Indian Women (2015)' as a way to measure the social impact of the workshop on the lives of the many women (the doll-makers). We discovered not only was the initiative promoting the plight of Tibetan culture and people but the actual doll-making process served as a meaningful cross-cultural exchange between the Tibetan refugee and Himachali women involved. Sharing space, traditional hand-making techniques and designs allowed for the creation of unique, handcrafted dolls that celebrated the fusion of cultures.
Dolls4Tibet, which initially started as an informal handicraft trade, prioritized employing unskilled and underprivileged women, leveraging culture and ethnicity as a strength to address their numerous challenges. Their intention was to grow slowly and generate profit from within. This strategy took time to build but ultimately fostered their confidence to formalize as a social micro-enterprise and 'stand on their own feet’ once ready. Ultimately, the workshop continues to shed light on the experiences of its participants and the difficulties faced by Tibetan refugees in establishing life in exile, and the uncertain and perilous nature of their illegal status, underscoring the workshop's current significance in the exile community.
Dolls 4 Tibet is an exceptional initiative that combines creativity, social responsibility, and a deep commitment to human dignity. A selection of hand-crafted BOPA dolls and a selected range of Global Steiner Friendship dolls will be available at our shop early 2025.
Photography. Ashwini Bhatia
