KOCHI: Encouraged and inspired by the resounding support they received for their initiative to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) during last year’s flood, the Kerala Designers’ Collaborative (KDCo) has further diversified their drive to launch a novel method to contribute to the fund this year. In a massive outpouring of generosity, 224 professionals from varied fields have joined hands to contribute their mite to rebuilding Kerala, by pledging wages for one hour of work to the CMDRF.
Professionals from the fields of graphic and web designing, journalism, photography, animation, art direction, software development and music have wholeheartedly pledged hours of work, against contributions to the CMDRF, for lending a hand to rebuild Kerala.
A sum of around Rs 25 lakh had been contributed by KDCo last year, with members contributing for the cause. “KDCo is a collaboration of around 2,000 members, and this collaboration was created as a forum for design-related discussions. During last year’s flood, there was a plan to widen our initiative to contribute substantive funds to the CMDRF, but there was a lot of confusion regarding the modalities to be adopted. Our desire to do something in the post-flood scenario has seen realisation this year, with this initiative,” said Hiran Venugopal, member of KDCo.
“Firms or individuals requiring design skills of our members can log on to the website kdco.info/skillsforkerala and choose from the designers’ profiles, according to the design requirements. The designers can also be contacted directly by the buyer through their email addresses listed in their portfolios,” said Venugopal. Instead of paying the designer directly, all they need to do is to show them a receipt of payment made to CMDRF and even get tax benefits, he added.
Over 4,580 hours were pledged within three days of the web interface launch on Tuesday. “It has been almost three years since we have come up with KDCo. Workshops can also be offered by the professionals on an hourly basis,” said Venugopal.
Kdco.info is run by a team including Anoop Sethumadhavan, Sooraj Chandran, Asim K T, Indrajith, Melvin Thomas, Stephen Thomas and Venugopal.
Music director Bijibal lauded the efforts of KDCo to contribute to the noble cause of rebuilding Kerala and lend a helping hand to people who have to start life from the scratch. “It is through my friend that I came across the site. I’m encouraged by the extensive reach that this initiative has had and the response it has received, and I will also do my best to promote it. By working on smaller projects like advertisements, money can be raised on an hourly basis,” said Bijibal, who has pledged five hours of his service.