Tumar

About

A tool for building equal partnerships

Tumar is a communication tool for partners to use as they prepare for marriage. It is designed specifically for patriarchal contexts such as the designer’s home country of Kyrgyzstan, where equality between partners is often lacking. The product helps the couple to better understand each other by using physical objects to represent spheres of marital life: love, sex, children, internal and external relationships, career and work, finances, religion and spirituality, and traditions. The objects can be stacked to form a totem, illustrating the values and priorities of the couple, which can then be discussed and shifted throughout the marriage, enabling ongoing communication and mutual understanding.