Palayar: Pride is an emotion these men sing about, a feeling of self-respect and personal worth, a refusal to be humiliated.

That pride came into play when the fishermen of Palayar refused to take the fibre boats that were being donated to by people from across the world, who wanted to do their bit for the tsunami struck.

Instead, they decided to make a statement and build their own boats. With the help of an NGO, more than 160 fishermen worked for nine days and made 40 boats - enough for the whole village.

"These are our own boats. This way we don't take favours from anyone and we can use the boat whenever we want to without needing to take anybody's permission," says Thyagu, a fisherman.

Excessive donation of boats has meant that in many fishing villages there's now a problem of plenty. Too many boats are overcrowding the sea and there has been a drop in the overall catch.

Keeping this in mind the Palayar fishermen decided that they would make one boat for four families.

Joythi Mani, another Palayar fisherman says, "We feel confident now, that if tomorrow no one helps us, we can make our own boats with a little money. It has also given us an alternate source of income."

Life after the tsunami has been tough but these fishermen have mastered the art of self-sufficiency and have also learnt the importance of keeping the common good of the people in mind. Their story is an example of how a community, if it gets together can rebuild itself.