In other events more than 1500 students of desert villages including at least one third girls participated.
Sindh Courier
Islamkot
Thar Foundation set a new tradition of providing opportunities of social interaction to the male and female villagers of Thar Desert by arranging Mach Kachehries (Bonfire Chat) for them.
The Mach Kachehry is the centuries old cultural tradition of Sindh and is held by the people in rural areas during the chilling winters.
The education team of Thar Foundation organized a series of such traditional Mach Kachehries (Bonfire Chats) in the villages of Thar Coal Block-2. Approximately 2500 people attended these events. One special event was arranged for women where more than 200 women participated. In other events more than 1500 students including at least one third girls participated.
Mach Kachehry or Bonfire Chat is not just an old tradition of rural society of Sindh but it also acted as a social institution for community knitting, mutual sharing and caring and preserving of culture. Sitting in a circle around bonfire and singing, clapping, laughing, chatting, reciting poetry, discussing about relatives, friends, weather, diseases, crops, water, livestock and everything surrounding their lives had been a winter evening routine of villages with a sip of tea and cracking peanuts. Such kachehris are held in houses, bazaars, otaqas (male guesthouse) and open spaces where elder, young and kids would assemble in a relaxed mood, enjoy and learn from each other.
With the onslaught of TV and later on cellular phones, these avenues of community bond started withering away and gradually vanishing from social fabric. Revival of these traditions is actually an effort of resuscitating the dying social structures that act as social lungs of society.
Thar Foundation is implementing a multi-sectoral CSR program in Islamkot taluka of Tharparkar with the support of Thar Coal Block-2 companies and Government of Sindh.
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