My online name is Radical, and my irl name is Christian. I’ve been in the hobby for around 2.5 years now and I’ve decided to take this „passion”/money drain and do something good with it. With the help of some friends, I have started this project, Lanka Kaps. I’m still a student and this is my first time creating anything of this sort, but hopefully, you can support it!
What is this project?
I had in mind a community service project that could include my hobby, namely custom mechanical keyboards, and turn it into something more than something I do for fun. I thought about making keycaps since those were already quite artisanal and widespread and I got the idea to start making keycaps for charity.
On a holiday trip to Sri Lanka, I spotted some super cool masks, which I found out were traditional masks made to ward off evil. The incredibly intricate designs reminded me of some of the artisan keycaps I’ve seen over the years, which inspired me to try to combine tradition with technology. I also made contact with a local school and saw firsthand the effects of the recent Sri Lankan economic crisis on the lives of women and their children. I wanted to try to do something – however small – to help the school support the close community within and around it. Having spoken to the school about their needs I realised that involving some of the mothers of the schoolchildren in the keycap-making process could be an effective way to help.
This project is quite a leap of faith, but I’m just trying to create some change, no matter how big or small this project ends up being. This isn’t some grand plan to try to rebuild an entire country’s economy, but I hope that at least the mothers and children of this community will get a little more food, a little more comfort in their lives, and a little more independence. If nothing else, I hope that at least this project helps spread awareness about the situation in Sri Lanka.
What are these masks?
The masks that have inspired our keycaps are Sanni and Kolam masks (the human faces) and Raksha masks (the demon faces). They are very traditional Sri Lankan masks, with a history of over 600 years. These masks are traditionally used in rituals and dances for different purposes – Kolam masks in satirical plays, representing a variety of characters; Sanni masks are to ward off “evil spirits” which were traditionally believed to cause different types of illnesses; Raksha masks to protect against and ward off evil.
What does this project aim to achieve?
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1
To empower women
Each keycap will be hand painted and packaged by mothers identified by the school as needing the most support.
Many are stay-at-home mothers who run their households but have little to no access to finances controlled by their husbands. By giving them a stream of independent income, we hope that they would be better able not only to take care of both themselves and their kids but improve their overall quality of life. The men in the families do make some money, but sometimes it’s mismanaged, and if they aren’t able to work anymore, the family loses all streams of income.
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2
To fund the school’s development:
The direct, grassroots-level impact this school has on the community is incredibly uplifting and inspiring.
The school takes in students from villages all around it, and through this project, we hope to be able to increase their capacity in students, as well as improve their quality of education.
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3
To nourish children:
We are raising money to support the school and its students, many of whom rely on school lunches as their only daily meal.
Due to budget cuts in Sri Lanka following the economic crisis, government funding for school meals has been reduced. Our goal is to ensure that all students can receive lunch daily, with hopes of eventually providing multiple nutritious meals each day. Currently, the students’ mothers prepare a weekly meal for specific grades, but with additional funds, we could increase this to a daily meal for everyone. We also aim to improve the school’s small vegetable garden, which, with proper support, could provide a sustainable source of fresh food. This would allow students not only to have healthier meals but also to bring some produce home and learn valuable skills in caring for crops.