Plushindo, Empowering Deaf People by Creative Design

I am Hijrah Saputra, first year student of master program in tourism and hospitality at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU). I am also a graphic designer and from March 2018, I am taking the role of creative director for the “Plushindo” project. 

Plushindo is a social project of a social enterprise, Fingertalk, to empower the often marginalized and discriminated Deaf youths by training them to produce creative products, such as plush toys of endangered animals, that are used to spread awareness about animal conservation and inclusion. This project tackles issues such as unemployment, discrimination against people with disability and animal conservation in one creative solution, which made it very unique. 

Currently, Indonesia faces challenges of animals’ extinction due to habitat loss or illegal hunting. Many of the animals, such as Javan rhino, anoa and Komodo dragons, are endemic to Indonesia, and are forecasted to be extinct in the next decade. I believe that we must act now, and we must start from younger generation. Plushindo plushies are a way to spread awareness about the importance and urgency of animal conservation to the younger generation using attractive and fun mediums. 

Due to discrimination in the society, more than 74% of Deaf people in Indonesia are unemployed. Thus, through this project, my team and I are trying to break the stigma and create employment. Moreover, I learned to apply my skills and supported the Deaf to upgrade their skills, earn income and provide for their family.

Plushindo Crews

As the creative director, I was in charge of the designing and training process. I designed six different characters of endangered animals in Indonesia, which are orangutan, Sumatran elephants, Javan rhino, anoa, and komodo dragon. Once I completed the designs, I trained 20 Deaf youths to produce the plush toys or “plushies” based on those designs. Together, we made more than 600 plushies and distributed them to school children in six major islands in Indonesia.

The Characters

The Characters and their habitat

In addition to that, I also designed a small book to accompany the plushies, providing information about these endangered animals. I designed the books using language that are simple and easy to understand. I also used Indonesian Sign Language (BISINDO) in the book, so the children can understand more about the Deaf culture. This initiative connected Deaf youths and the children, and raised awareness since early age to hopefully eliminate discrimination against people with disability in the future.

After the production finished, I helped the team distributing the finished products through educational workshop. We visited schools and introduced the Deaf youths to the children, again, to raise awareness since young age. We used sign language to explain why all of us should love the animals. Furthermore, these plushies and books are also given as the token of appreciation to the conservation sites of the endangered animals. 

Plushindo goes to Riau, Pekanbaru

Plushindo team teach Indonesian Sign Language (BISINDO) to the school children

Plushindo goes to Pamulang, Banten

Plushindo goes to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

Plushindo goes to Poso, Central Sulawesi

Plushindo and WWF Indonesia

Through this program, we have realized that the training can be scaled up as employment opportunities for Deaf youths, which led me to participate in Hult Prize competition. In December 2018, my team and I brought this idea to enter the competition of Hult Prize, the biggest social entrepreneurship competition in the world. We won APU campus round and four months later, we became the only team that represented APU in Tokyo regional summit. Our goal was to win the USD 1 million prize to train more Deaf youths and create 10,000 jobs. We were chosen one of the six finalists and received valuable feedback from the judges to scale up and create more sustainable impact.

Plushindo team and New Zealand Embassador for Indonesia

Plushindo Team with Mr. Deguchi, President of Ritsumeikan APU

Last March 2019, Plushindo also won the Asahi Shinbun SDG Action! Awards 2019, and became the first ever representation from APU to win the competition. Our team received the grand prix prize of JPY 500,000 and will utilize the fund to train more Deaf people in rural areas of Indonesia to give them more opportunities and financial independence.

Plushindo won Grand Prix SDGs Daigaku Action Awards Asahi Shimbun Japan 2019

Plushindo Team with Chief of Asahi Shimbun Japan

Plushindo team at Hult Prize Final Round in Regional Round Tokyo, Japan

Through this project, I can see how our skill can create bigger and more sustainable impact.