The brief was to help with cost effective technological solution that could save fishermen from unknowingly crossing into International waters and getting caught by maritime police of other countries and face long jail terms.
Cultural Context
We found that fishermen across the villages carry a mask called a MUKHOTA on their fishing boats. As cultural beliefs these masks are used to keep them safe and ward off evil spirits. So we turned these MUKHOTA masks into simple alarm systems that warned fishermen as they got dangerously close to international waters.
Solution
We turned the masks into alarm systems that warned fishermen as they got close to international waters. A GPS system was attached, that tracked the co-ordinates of the boats. As they neared the international boarder the alarm was triggered. This alerted them to turn back. Over 2000 masks were distributed across coastal villages & they have been activated over 15, 000 times in multiple regions.
