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Flannel Board
Community Bulletin Board and Newsheets
Chalkboard
Alternative Construction - Roll-up Blackboard
Chalkboard Paint
Chalk
Layout
Posters
Puppets
Paste and Paper Maché
Models: Dioramas, Sand Tables and Salt Maps
Dioramas
Sand table
Salt map
Pens and Paintbrushes
Inks, Dyes and Paints
Modeling Clay
Hectograph
Mimeograph Board
Silk Screen Press
* What kinds of NFE materials can be made from local resources at very low cost?
* How can these materials be used to make your work in NFE more effective?
Even if
your group has little money for NFE materials, they can make the
basic tools for planning, group learning, and spreading the word
to others from whatever inexpensive or free items that are
locally available. The materials included in this chapter have
been used effectively in the field by Volunteers. However, local
people may show you more clever techniques than we have included
here. They will know exactly what leaves, barks, clays, woods and
local fabrics are appropriate for your group's materials
development project.
Description and Use:
The flannel board consists of a rough- surfaced material attached
to a board that serves as a background cloth for drawings,
pictures, symbols, and captions. The display materials, backed
with another rough surfaced material, adhere to the background
with slight pressure and can easily be removed or rearranged on
the flannel board. Flannel boards are easy to transport and
store. Village groups find them particularly interesting for
planning and displaying ideas in picture form.
Flannel Board Construction
Materials: a large sheet of plywood or heavy cardboard, a larger piece of flannel or rough cloth.
Figure
Procedure:
1. Take a large piece of wood or heavy cardboard (people will have difficulty seeing a small display from a distance) and cover entire board with flannel, blanket, or other rough cloth (note: the rougher the cloth used the better the board will work; smooth cloth may also be used if the surface is roughened with sandpaper).
2. Fasten the cloth to the board using tape, staples, tacks, or glue while running your hand across the cloth to create a smooth surface.
Suggestions: Black, green, or grey color cloth are the most appropriate background colors and will offer good contrast. If a board is not available, the cloth may be draped over a portable chalkboard.
Alternative Constructions
Elastic-backed cloth: Fasten elastic strips to the cloth so that it fits tightly around the board. This allows the cloth to be easily removed for storage.
Cloth bag flannel board: A two-sided cloth board can be made by sewing two pieces of cloth together in the form of a bag. You can use two different colors of cloth for a choice of background colors. To use, insert plywood, a chalkboard or heavy cardboard into the bag and pin the open end in place. Store display materials in the bag between uses.
Construction of Display Materials
Choose and cut out whatever materials you want to display: pictures, graphs, charts, etc. Cut-outs should be large so that the audience can see them clearly. Simple, brightly colored displays are more visually effective than complicated, detailed pictures. Lettering should be bold. Figures in a story, for example, should be in proportion to each other, larger in the foreground, smaller in the background. Cut-outs and displays must be flat and rigid. Glue thin pictures or drawings onto cardboard and apply the backing material directly to the cardboard. Use sandpaper (in narrow strips) or rough cloth (over entire area) as backing materials. The display materials should adhere easily to the flannel board when they are pressed firmly against it. Materials will stay in place better if the board is tipped slightly backward against a wall, chalkboard or easel.
Making Sandpaper
If
sandpaper is not available, home-made sandpaper can be easily
produced. Spread a thin layer of glue on cardboard, then sprinkle
on a light covering of sand. Allow to dry and shake off excess
sand.
Description and Use:
A community bulletin board, placed in a strategic location, can
be an effective way to encourage reading and keep people up to
date on program and community news. Anything that can hold papers
and be easily rearranged can serve as a bulletin board. Items can
be hand written and changed every day.
Use the board to challenge interaction: invite people to write short letters and respond to each other or post a local newspaper and encourage contributions. Use your community bulletin board for any one of the four traditional purposes: to inform, to motivate, to instruct, or simply to decorate.
In general, bulletin boards are used because they are inexpensive and can be homemade from local materials and can be easily changed. In a classroom setting they provide visual stimulation to the learning environment and a focal point for learner participation and discussion. If you make them large and mobile, you can even use a bulletin board to divide your learning space for small group work and variety.
A modest mimeographed newsheet can keep people posted on upcoming events (see section on hand press duplicators for production ideas). A newsheet need be no more than a couple of pages and come out once a month or so. Invite people in the community (including children) to contribute articles and announcements. Encouraging participants to run a newspaper can build pride and a sense of community. Moreover, in areas where there are few books, a newsheet gives people a chance to practice, and thus retain, their literacy skills.
Bulletin Board Construction
Materials: A large piece of wood, cardboard, matting, etc.; paint or cloth (to accent or cover); fasteners (pins, thumbtacks, wire clips, etc.).
Procedure:
1. Paint the board a bright color or cover it with a bright solid color material.
2. Fasten the bulletin board to a wall or stand it on an easel somewhere where it can be seen but not easily knocked over.
3. Organize the display materials and attach them in a clear and interesting fashion.
Suggestions:
Many everyday materials can be turned into bulletin boards at
little or no cost. A piece of cardboard carton, wooden boxes,
heavy cloth material, heavy wrapping paper, woven mats or other
low cost materials make excellent display areas. You can also
cover part of the chalkboard with flannel or use the back of a
door. A wire, strong cord, or even a slim bamboo pole stretched
over part of a community room or through tree branches makes a
functional bulletin board when materials are clipped to it.
Description and Use:
The chalkboard is a useful tool for any educational activity. It
is easily used and reused and can be made large for facilitators
or small enough for use by individual group members, especially
where paper is less abundant. To use a chalkboard effectively:
* Print or write large.
* Face the group as much as possible, do not talk to the board.
* Do not fill the board with irrelevant material.
* Use the board to emphasize the important points by: drawing pictures, maps, diagrams or writing difficult words, lists, summaries, discussion questions etc. (being especially sensitive to the literacy level of your audience).
* Use the board to jot down ideas from a community discussion.
* Make sure participants understand what you have put on the board and why.
* Clean the board often (unless there is something you want saved for future reference).
Encourage everyone to make use of the board. Group members can outline reports to be compared, summarize group discussions, or draw pictures to illustrate a point. A more literate participant can act as a secretary to write down the important points of a group discussion or a story as it is created. The facilitator can then sit back and observe or actively participate as needed.
Chalkboard Construction
Materials: Piece of blockboard, plywood, or pieces of planks joined together; black paint or chalkboard paint (see below); sandpaper; chalk and cloth or eraser
Procedure:
1. Sand main board material carefully to an even roughness.
2. Apply two separate coats of black paint to roughened surface. Be sure the first coat of paint is dry before applying second coat.
3. Before using the chalkboard, rub a chalk-dusty eraser or cloth over it (this is necessary to create an erasable surface).
Suggestion:
Attaching a good wooden frame to the board will help prevent
warping and make the chalkboard last longer.
This is a portable
blackboard that is light, easy to carry and can be used with
small groups.
Materials: canvas (55 x 74 cm); round wooden pole or stick; black paint.
Figure
Procedure:
1. Apply two coats of chalkboard paint or black paint, allowing first coat to dry thoroughly before applying second coat.
2. When paint is dry, fix a round, smooth wooden rod or pole to the long end of the painted cloth.
3. Connect both ends of the rod with a piece of cord or string so that you can hang it on a nail.
4. When rolling up the chalkboard, roll the painted side in, keeping the unfinished surface on the outside.
Suggestions:
If canvas is not available, use a smooth, thick piece of cotton
cloth or old blanket. Give the cloth a very thin coat of
carpenter's glue on one side. When glue is dry, apply two coats
of paint as above. Make a sturdier version of this chalkboard by
attaching poles to both ends of the canvas and making two
vertical support poles that, when placed between the top and
bottom pole, stretch the canvas and create a firm writing
surface.
Materials: |
1 part soot or powdered charcoal; |
1 part varnish; |
|
1 1/2 parts of kerosene or
paraffin. |
Procedure:
1. Mix varnish and paraffin thoroughly.
2. Blend mixture thoroughly with soot or powdered charcoal.
3. Apply two coats of paint to prepared surface as described above.
Materials: 1 part
chalky soil or lime powder; 4 parts water.
Procedure:
1. Place chalky soil in a large basin or bucket.
2. Add water and stir vigorously. Crumble large pieces and dissolve soil as much as possible. Ignore hard rocks or pebbles.
3. Allow soil to settle overnight.
4. Pour water off the top and skim off top layer of silt (this is usually several inches thick). The top layer you have just skimmed off is chalk in a liquid state.
5. Put "chalk" in a bag of muslin or similar coarse, porous cloth and let it drip overnight. To speed process, the water may be squeezed out.
6. Roll chalk (which should now look like clay or bread dough) into long, snake-like pieces. Cut to desired lengths and let dry. Or split a reed stalk and use it as a chalk mold.
Suggestions:
Thicker chalk will not break as easily. To make colored chalk,
add dye in step 2 above.
Layout refers to the
arrangement and placement of materials within a defined area. It
is one of the most important factors in a successful bulletin
board, poster, newsheet, or any graphic medium. In general, you
should balance the presentation of text and illustration so that
the end result is easy to read and pleasing to look at. The final
decision as to how to lay out a given page, poster or board will
generally depend on what is most pleasing to the individual's
eyes. The illustrations on the following page depict the same
items laid out in three different ways.
Figure
Description and Use: A good poster should catch and hold an individual's attention long enough to communicate a brief message. To be effective, posters must be colorful and dynamic. If your message is clear and catchy, a poster can be an inexpensive and easily produced method of communication.
A poster was first used as a means of advertising over one hundred years ago to promote theatrical productions. Since that time, five key aspects of poster production have emerged. An effective poster is simple, has a single theme or topic, contains a concise, well-phrased message, and uses large bold letters and eye-catching colors. Good posters do not just happen, they are carefully planned. Posters rely on a symbol that expresses a particular set of ideas and is appropriate to the cultural and social context. The actual size of the poster, the lettering, and the coloring will all be influenced by where the poster is to be displayed.
Understanding
how to use colors in posters is extremely important. Purple is
the least visible color (by itself) while yellow has twelve times
the visibility of purple. Orange, green, red, and blue are all
roughly three times more visible than purple. Ultimately,
complementary colors and contrasting shades create contrast and
provide the most striking visual results. If, for example, you
wish to create a poster to be viewed from a great distance, then
you would use dark blue (or even dark purple) on a white
background since this would result in the most visible lettering.
Black on yellow, green on white, blue on white, green or red on
yellow and red on white are also appropriate color combinations
for distance viewing. (For general Layout information, see the
section above.)
Description and Use:
The use of puppets is a well tried and valuable NFE technique.
Puppets can take various forms, from hand puppets, to stick
puppets, to marionettes. A puppet can be made to represent a
character, a value, or a type of individual.
Figure
Cloth and Envelope Hand Puppets
Materials: old socks, shirt sleeves, used envelopes, yarn, cornsilk, buttons, paint, glue, etc.
Procedure:
1. Draw, paint, glue or sew a face on one side of the cloth or envelope. Make the eyes a prominent feature. (Shape the envelope around the top edges of the face by folding and gluing the corners.)
2. Attach grass, cornsilk, strands of wool, yarn or rolled paper to serve as hair around the face, in back, and for a moustache or beard if desired.
3. Put the puppet head on one hand. You can use a rubber band or piece of string to secure it around the wrist.
4. Use the puppets by hiding behind a cupboard, a desk, a large box or a fence. Then let the characters of the puppets take over.
Paper Maché Puppets:
Materials: paper strips, paste, paint, etc.
Procedure:
1. Wrap a piece of dry paper around your index finger to make a cone and paste it together.
2. Crumple a ball of dry paper and place it on the top of the cone.
3. Attach the ball to the cone using paper maché strips (see recipe for paper maché below), continuing until you have formed a secure, smooth surface.
4. Build up this surface with more strips to form features - ears, lips, nose, eyebrows.
5. When it dries, paint it.
6. Cut a dress or shirt from an old scrap of cloth and sew it onto the head.
7. Bring the puppet to life by inserting your index finger in the hollow cone and using thumb and pinky as "hands." Use a desk, table or large box for the stage.
Suggestions:
In many cultures, puppets have found a place in the festivities
and leisure life of the community. Explore local techniques of
puppet construction or invite a puppeteer to lead a construction
session with participants.
Description and Use:
The following mixtures are locally produced adhesives that can be
used to fix paper and cloth items together, form maps or models,
or otherwise help to create NFE support materials.
Paste
Flour Paste: from commercial wheat or cassava flour and water
1. Remove all lumps from the flour by sifting it through a wire sieve.
2. Add water as needed to the flour to form a smooth paste.
Rice Paste: from handful of rice and water
1. Cook rice in water as usual until rice is moist and sticky. Do not allow rice to become dry.
2. Allow to cool and drain off any excess water.
3. Use the sticky rice as a paste, pressing out lumps with your finger as you apply it.
Cassava Paste: from 4 medium cassavas and cold water
1. Peel, wash and grate cassavas.
2. Add cold water, soak, and strain into another container. Squeeze out all liquid.
3. Let stand for one hour. Starch will settle to the bottom of the container.
4. Pour off liquid, scrape starch from the bottom of the container and set it in the sun to dry.
5. To make paste, mix some starch with cold water until quite thick. Next, add boiling water, stirring constantly, until it reaches the desired consistency for paste.
Paper Maché
Materials: newspaper or old thin paper stock and a paste mixture from above.
Procedures:
Sheet method: Soak a sheet of newspaper in a thin mixture of paste. When it is soft and pliable, lay it over the form to be covered. Let dry. Place at least six layers around a balloon or round object to make a ball. This is the best method for making large objects.
Pulp method: Tear newspaper into small pieces and soak these in water until they form a pulpy mass. Drain off the water and mix the paper thoroughly with thin paste. Apply by handfuls to the form to be covered. (Good for models, maps, etc.)
Strip
method: Tear off thin strips of newspaper and soak them in
thin paste until they are soft and pliable. Apply in criss-cross
layers. This is the best method for making puppets and animals
Description and Use:
Models are three-dimensional representations of reality. A model
may be larger, smaller, or the same size as the object it
represents. It may be complete in detail or simplified for
instructional purposes. Your group can use a model as an aid when
discussing a situational analysis, trying to map out potential
locations of latrines, or practicing construction of mud stoves
on a small scale.
If you are
using a model for instructional purposes, familiarize yourself
with it before you begin. Practice your presentation. If your
model is a working one, be sure you know how it works. Be
sure your audience does not get the wrong impression of the size,
shape, or color of the real object if the model differs from it
in these respects. Whenever feasible, encourage your audience to
handle and manipulate the model.
A diorama is an open-sided
box with flat background and trees, houses and ground constructed
of paper or cardboard, painted and positioned in the box to
present a three-dimensional display. It is a model that
highlights features of a place, a particular scene, or village.
The sand table is exactly
what the name implies: a table, or a floor in a corner of a room,
with built up sides that contains sand or similar materials that
can be molded to depict a particular scene. Small models can be
created and easily moved from one spot to another on the sand
table. The sand table has an advantage in that the sand can be
smoothed out and used over and over again.
Figure
Similar to the sand table,
but more permanent. The salt mixture can be molded into a rigid
surface which can be painted, labeled and preserved over a long
period of time. The ingredients of the salt map are: one cup
flour, one cup salt and one-half cup water. When these
ingredients are thoroughly mixed together they form a substance
that can be molded, and when left to dry will harden. Salt maps
have an unusual advantage in that they can be hung up when dry,
providing three-dimensional pictures.
Description and Use:
Pens, paintbrushes and markers can be made from a variety of
indigenous materials. Sturdy, effective, and easily made, locally
produced pens and brushes dipped in homemade dyes and inks can
take the place of store-bought equivalents. Making your own
writing implements can prove particularly important in areas
where even the price of a pencil is a barrier to group
participation.
Pen Construction
Materials: Thin, hollow bamboo is recommended for pen construction (large bamboo staffs will not work).
Figure
Pen Types and Procedures:
1. Bamboo Marker: Choose a 10 cm stick of bamboo (with an inside diameter approximately the same size as the desired line width), a wad of cotton (or any highly absorbent material), and small piece of loose-weave muslin. Compress cotton tightly and cover with muslin. Stuff into end of bamboo. Dip the cotton pen tip into an ink or dye and allow a reasonable amount to be absorbed. Wipe off excess and use it as you would a felt pen or magic marker. As the written image begins to lighten, dip the marker periodically in the ink or dye.
2. Flat Stick Pen: For making letters you can wrap a small piece of felt over the end of a flat stick such as a tongue depressor and secure tightly with an elastic band. Dip into ink and begin lettering. This is good for drawing large and wide lines.
3. Bamboo Lettering Pen: Select a 12 cm stick of bamboo cane and use a knife or razor blade to carve an excellent lettering pen (as shown in the drawing). Be sure that the end is flat and even in thickness as this will affect the lettering you produce. Dip the pen in the ink periodically as you write.
Figure
Paint Brush Construction
Stick Brushes:
** Select or cut a six inch length of rattan or a dried reed-like plant. Mark it about one-half inch from one end and pound this section to form bristles.
** Use chew-sticks (used as a dental hygiene tool in many places) as cheap disposable brushes.
** Select bamboo sections, soak and chew the ends to make brushes for writing and painting.
Figure
Loose-Fiber Brushes:
Materials: Several large chicken or bird feathers tied together and trimmed to an appropriate length, or hair, string, fine grass, sisal fibers, etc.; gum or latex; bamboo or grooved stick; string or plaiting cotton.
Figure
Procedure:
1. Clean materials and gather them into small bundles according to how thick you want to make your brushes. Tie the materials firmly and cut level at the bottom.
2. Dip the level end in a waterproof gum or latex from a plant (such as a euphorbia hedge) or other source.
3. Stick the gummed end into a split bamboo, cut and grooved stick or onto a grooved bevelled stick. (It is better to fit the brush "in" something rather than "on" it. Bamboo is ideal for this purpose.)
4. The brush should be tightly bound onto or into the handle. Hair plaiting cotton or other small flexible fibers are ideal for this stage. A small amount of gum or latex over the binding will help to keep it from coming undone.
Description and Use:
The roots, leaves, barks, seeds and fruit of many plants and
trees have been used for centuries to make colorants for crafts
produced all over the world. These have been added to fixatives
obtained from the gums of trees or made with starchy vegetables
like maize or cassava flour. By following these age-old
techniques, you can identify appropriate and readily available
materials for making your own dyes, paints and inks.
Ink
Materials: 22 cc. alcohol (or methylated spirit); 14 cc. water; 2 grams dry or powdered dye (of any color).
Procedure: Add all ingredients and stir well.
Dyes
Procedure:
1. Select a colorful plant leaf, bark, flower or seed.
2. Pound it well.
3. If color seems weak or plant produces little juice, add a bit of water, boil and let sit overnight.
4. Crush and press through cloth to strain.
Figure
Suggestion: Add a small amount of vinegar to help "fix" the dye when used.
Paints (Example: Cassava Finger Paint)
Materials:
1 cup of cassava starch
5 cups of water
1/2 to I cup of soap flakes (optional)
color - made from leaves, bark, berries, foods, or crushed stone
Procedure:
1. Stir a little hot water into starch to remove lumps.
2. Add 5 cups of water to the smooth starch mixture and heat until clear and thick. Add soap flakes, if desired, and stir.
3. Stir in color. If more than one color is desired, separate mixture into several jars and add a different color to each jar.
Eight Ways of Making
Modeling Clay
1. 1 cup flour, 1 cup salt, and 1/2 cup water. Mix until you get a modeling consistency.
2. Shred newspapers or paper towels. Mix with starch and any paste and knead thoroughly.
3. Mix cassava paste and sawdust. Add a little water if too dry.
4. Dissolve 250 ml of starch paste in water to thin slightly. Add 375 ml of plaster, 500 ml of sawdust, and knead to consistency of tough dough.
5. Soak small pieces of newspaper in bucket of water overnight. Remove from water and rub wet paper between palms of hands until it is ground to a pulp. Mix 1 ml of glue in 250 ml of water and add 500 ml of this paste to 1 litre of the wet paper pulp. Knead to a doughy consistency.
6. Mix 250 ml of dry clay powder sifted through a screen with 5 ml of glue dissolved in 250 ml of water: add wet paper pulp and knead to a doughy consistency (add water as necessary).
7. Powder mud from an ant hill or termite mound and mix with water. (When collecting the mud, watch out for rats and snakes that often inhabit old termite mounds.)
8. Check to see if clay is available in your locality. You may only need to dig a bit.
Hand Press Duplicators
Description
and Use: Hand press duplicators are simple,
non-mechanized devices used to reproduce written and graphic
images. The simplest is the hectograph which uses a gelatin pad
to store an ink image and can transfer this image to paper up to
30 times. The mimeograph board produces a larger number of copies
using store-bought stencils and ink, but requires no machinery or
electricity to operate. The most versatile of these techniques is
the silk screen press. Also referred to as a nylon duplicator or
a limograph, this printing technique allows workbooks, newsheets,
large posters, game boards, flags, shirts and other items to be
produced in large quantities on different types of materials.