Breathing safely: Aurovilians making masks

When the coronavirus pandemic hit India in March, four different units in Auroville saw mask-making as a way in which they could serve the larger cause. But they had to learn fast, as they had little experience in making masks in the kind of mass quantities that the pandemic demanded. 

Aire

Aire was the only Auroville unit that had been solely dedicated to making masks before the pandemic arrived. Until then, Aire’s masks had been focused on protecting people from the growing pollution in India’s cities.  Lola and Juan-Felipe, Aire’s founders, had travelled much of India on motorbike, and were conscious for the need to protect bike riders from the pollution on India’s roads. “We enjoyed making masks. But Indian people were not interested in masks for pollution, they were blind to the problem, even though India has 20 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world.”

Due to this lack of awareness of pollution, Aire’s sales were low – around 50 masks sold per month – and there were reportedly only a few other businesses in India making masks at that time. Aurovilians wore them largely to protect themselves from the dust and car pollution on the roads in and around Auroville.  But Lola and Juan-Felipe believed that the situation would change once awareness was raised in India. “We were wondering how to awaken people in India to the problem of pollution,” says Juan-Felipe, “and then suddenly the virus appeared. When we got the news that the virus was in China, we realised that we had to jump.”

Lola and Juan Felipe describe the “huge challenge” of increasing production to meet the surge in demand for masks; from 50 masks per month to 100,000.Their initial focus was to make thousands of masks for Aurovilians and to fulfil an order for 4000 masks for the Sri Aurobindo Society, so they added five new members to their production team to achieve this. They could no longer import fabric from China, and had to start sourcing fabrics from inside India. “In three months, we’ve changed totally,” says Juan-Felipe.  “We had to get an easy and fast way to make really high quality masks.” 

The team decided to purchase a large machine with a greater manufacturing capacity, but when they went to Chennai to collect it, they found the machine needed fixing. Transportation under lockdown of such a large item was also difficult and required significant liaison with authorities. When the machine finally arrived two weeks later, it weighed five times the promised 200kg. “We were working in Lola’s home at that time, so how could we work with a one tonne machine?!” says Juan-Felipe. “It was crazy.” But once they brought it, everything changed.

As they ramped up their production capacity, Aire was approached by doctors from nearby PIMS hospital to supply bulk orders of masks that would provide them with suitable protection. “The hospital doesn’t supply masks to them, so the doctors organised themselves and ordered from us,” says Lola. Aire and the doctors worked collaboratively to develop a design that would meet the doctors’ needs to create a mask that would be comfortable to wear for many hours, and that would provide proper protection from patients with the virus.

While Aire’s previous mask designs included a valve to keep out pollution and to help wearers breathe, Aire has created a new design that excludes the valve because of the danger that a mask-wearer with coronavirus can emit the virus through the valve. Aire’s masks are made from multiple layers of polyproline and polyester, so they are thicker than the cotton masks made by other units in Auroville, and this can make them hot in summer. While the team wanted to use organic fabrics such as cotton, they discovered that it did not provide enough protection, because cotton fibres “absorb the virus,” according to Lola. “Our masks offer 95 or 99% protection, according to international standards.” 

A mask classified as N95 (in the American system) keeps out 95% of 2.5 micron sized particles and above – which are the more dangerous than larger size particles because  they are small enough to move from the lungs into the blood and to cause poisoning. While the coronavirus is even smaller (approximately 0.125 microns in diameter) and experts and institutions such as WHO have debated the evidence for the efficacy of masks against coronavirus, many governments around the world have advised people to wear them in public, and the Indian government has now made it mandatory for people to wear masks in public places. 

Aire is now developing a mask for doctors that is made from soft bamboo with nano silver. “If you wear a mask for a while, the bacterial flora from the mouth starts to smell, and skin irritation can happen,” says Lola. “So we’re developing this to create a clean ambience in the mouth, even if you use it for hours. We’re testing it in the hospital with professionals.”

Aire is supplying its masks to shops in Auroville and Pondicherry for only Rs 300, while their valve-based model costs Rs 350. The new masks can be washed in soap and water and reused, and are therefore more sustainable than disposable masks sold elsewhere that create waste problems. Auroville’s Upcycling unit “fell in love” with the fabric remnants from Aire’s production, as Juan-Felipe narrates, and is reworking the fabric into artworks for a planned exhibition in December about the virus. He contrasts this eco-friendly approach to materials with the government directives that masks must presently be sold in plastic bags for hygiene reasons, which was a disappointment for Aire after they had spent a lot of time designing eco-friendly packaging.

Miniature

Two Auroville clothing units – Miniature and Upasana – have also turned their hand to making masks. For Miniature, it was a “spontaneous and instantaneous reaction, the need for our community,” says Miniature’s Liliana. The atelier had closed a week before the official lockdown, so Liliana jumped online and started researching the requirements of the fabrics used in masks. But the lockdown posed a big challenge to getting the required triple tissue surgical material from wholesalers in Pondy. Auroville’s ambulance driver, Alok, came to the rescue. “He could move freely in Pondy and had access to medical shops,” recounts Liliana, “so we were able to buy the fabric and make some samples to test.” The elastic was transported from Chennai, thanks to the help of Sauro and the Working Committee in arranging the necessary permits. Miniature distributed the cut pieces and samples to their tailors, who worked at home with their sewing machines. Some kits were also given to Aurovilian women to sew. Soon they were producing tens of thousands, with Miniature donating 11,000 masks to Auroville’s COVID-19 Task Force, who then distributed them free to 

various services and volunteers, including Santé and the Village Action Group. The design team also “had fun” creating some masks in fancy cotton, which are sold in the Taboo Boutique in Kuilapalayam. “We have the capacity, if necessary, to produce another 30,000,” says Liliana. “We had so much help from the community to do this.” 

Upasana

Upasana is a conscious clothing unit making masks. Like many units, Upasana’s overall sales dropped to almost zero at the beginning of lockdown. Looking to find a relevant contribution to make in a crisis, Uma came up with the idea of making masks. “It created a sense of energy and activity,” says Uma, “and kept people occupied at home. So far, we’ve kept all our 40 staff on half salary. It’s important that staff should have food to eat at home. In fact, we employed more people in the villages – we were the only company hiring during lockdown!”

To produce such a large quantity of masks outside the unit’s premises, Upasana had to design a new system overnight. Travel passes were secured for two staff members to move through the police checkposts on the roads around Auroville. They distributed the cut pieces, brought them to another location for finishing, and yet another location for packing. 

Upasana developed two reusable masks in organic handwoven cotton that have a unique twist: one is dyed with neem, and the other incorporates silver thread. “”We wanted it to be long-lasting and made from fabric which impacts positively on the body, with a holistic kind of protection,” says Uma. “Neem is naturally detoxifying, antiallergenic and calming. Silver has been used all around the world for its health benefits.” Upasana has also made a DIY kit for people in Auroville to dye their own masks. 

Upasana quickly sold out of the model with silver thread. Uma emphasises that the masks are not for medicinal use. Rather, these masks work on the cellular body, “not on the gross body in a way the mind registers.” The innovation of the masks also held broad appeal for India’s media, and the masks have now been profiled in many mainstream news stories. “What we’re doing is a little new and progressive” says Uma, “and this gave us a lot of media coverage.” 

Upasana has sold more than 15,000 of the masks, which are available for Rs100 each, in order to be affordable to everyone in shops throughout India and online. Upasana has also sent bulk orders to USA, Europe, Canada, Japan, Asia. “The day the postal service opened in India again, we sent 23 parcels!” says Uma.  Upasana also donated hundreds of masks to Auroville’s COVID-19 Task Force, and to other Auroville services and volunteers. 

However, Uma emphasises this activity is not enough for the unit to survive. “A Rs100 product cannot achieve much in terms of keeping Upasana running, unless we sell 10,000 masks per month, which we’re not. But this was a nice way of being engaged. It’s sustained us psychologically.” 

Masks are no temporary fad, Uma predicts. “Masks will be the new scarf in people’s wardrobes. Japan and Asia has been using masks culturally for a long time. The rest of the world saw masks as a medical appliance, but now, across the world, it’s no longer just a medical aid. It’s a clothing piece. Health and hygiene measures have pushed us to be in that space. So we’ll be part of it.”

Masks as a social cause: Auroville Village Action

Auroville’s village outreach projects have taken another approach: to supply masks free of charge to villagers as part of their relief work during lockdown. The Life Education Centre (LEC) has been making a small number of masks from existing fabrics in its premises, and these are offered to school children. While the Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) had previously made a few masks, its social enterprise sector had to stop functioning under lockdown. But when village representatives started asking for cotton masks, director Anbu saw the opportunity to “seriously” take up mask-making as a response to the need expressed by the communities, and as an income-generating activity for villagers, particularly women. 

AVAG undertook an emergency fundraising appeal, and the funds from donors enabled them to produce the masks. The organisation already had some stock of pure cotton fabric that had been sourced from weavers’ collectives in south India. AVAG cut the pieces on their premises, and then distributed these to around 20 people from its social enterprise and other villagers who were rendered jobless due to the lockdown, and they all stitched from home. AVAG then verified the quality, and the finished masks were distributed to the people in the villages. Because AVAG had to produce 16,000 masks in a short period of time, the “very committed” cutting and quality-checking team worked seven days a week. 

As people were not allowed to move about on roads, the stitchers took turns to bring the stitched masks to AVAG’s office, and to collect the cut pieces. However, because AVAG’s area of operating spans the border of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, and there was a blockade on inter-state travel, this posed difficulties. “Although we got permission from the government, sometimes the Tamil Nadu police stopped them, sometimes the Pondy police, so that was a challenge for us.” 

AVAG has distributed 16,000 free masks to date, and now 30 stitchers are making another 48,000.The masks are sold in the market place for a low price, and AVAG hopes to get large orders from other parts of India. 

Anbu acknowledges that it’s been a “very challenging” time. She emphasises that the mask making efforts may give livelihoods to the women, but they do not sustain AVAG’s social enterprise due to the costs of making the masks. 

But most importantly, the initiative enables AVAG to employ women and men at a time when they are jobless, and to provide local communities with quality products. AVAG’s efforts have been greatly appreciated by the local and block level authorities, and AVAG now plans to arrange a campaign in collaboration with the police and block medical officials. Anbu points out that while the government made mask-wearing compulsory, many villages could only find thick and low quality masks in the market, which are not easily breathable. This difficulty became “an excuse” not to wear masks, according to Anbu, and the maximum fine of Rs 200 for people driving motorbikes without a mask is not much of a deterrent or incentive. “Giving masks is one thing, but following the protocol is another thing. So we’re planning an education campaign to communicate this.”

AVAG aims to mobilise the community by arranging a care and support team in each village that will support AVAG’s campaign and arrange their own initiatives. The team in each village will conduct education strategies about social distancing, and will ensure that customers and shopkeepers in the village shops wear masks. “It’s a huge task,” says Anbu. “The block medical officer is very happy and  he will support us by allowing government health staff of local villages to join hands with us.”