The results of Kudumbashree oru Nerchithram’ Photography Competition Season 2 is announced. Shri. P.P Ratheesh, Photographer, Mathrubhumi Palakkad  unit bagged the first prize. Shri.E. Riyas from Malappuram came second and Shri. Deepesh Puthiyapurayil from Kasaragod came in third place.The Award for the Best Photographer is Rs 20,000. The second prize and third prize are Rs 10,000 and Rs 5000 respectively.  The dignity of labour irrespective of age was well captured in Ratheesh's click. Riyas captured the reflection of the hard work of Kudumbashree women creatively yet beautifully.Photograph depicting the unity and hard work of Kudumbashree women made Deepesh selected for the award. The jury consisting of Shri. B.S Prasannan, renowned Photographer, Shri.Shiju Basheer, Head of Production, Asiaville News and Documentary Photographer,  Smt. U.S. Rakhi, Photo Journalist and Faculty, C-DIT and Smt. M.Rajani  Accounts Officer, Kudumbashree Mission. 

Kudumbashree Mission which envisions at eradicating poverty through women in Kerala had successfully completed 21 revolutionary years, conducted the photography competition for motivating the aspiring photographers  and to propagate the activities of Kudumbashree Mission through photographs.The contestants were directed to  submit photographs that reflect the various activities of Kudumbashree Mission. Rs 1000 each will be issued for 10 entries as consolation prizes. More details are published in the website page http://kudumbashree.org/pages/753

Following the launch of Milky Latte Brand, Kudumbashree Mission has now launched the value added products of milk in the market. The first Milky Latte Outlet is launched in Kottayam district of Kerala.The outlet was launched at Kangazha on 30 May 2019 and the same was inaugurated by Shri. B Pradeep Kumar, President, Kangazha Grama Panchayath. Milk and the value added products of milk viz., curd, ghee, peda, paneer, cake, ice cream, sip up are available in Milky Latte Outlet. The value added products of Milky Latte would be available in bakeries in the countryside as well. The  Milky Latte Outlet is situated in Kaanam junction of Changanassery-Madhura road.  The outlet functions under the leadership of Kangazha CDS of Kottayam. It is also planned to launch Milky Latte products to the markets of the other districts as well. Kudumbashree Mission had entered the dairy products segment by launching Milky Latte brand.Following the launch of Milky Latte Brand, Kudumbashree Mission has now launched the value added products of milk in the market. The first Milky Latte Outlet is launched in Kottayam district of Kerala.The outlet was launched at Kangazha on 30 May 2019 and the same was inaugurated by Shri. B Pradeep Kumar, President, Kangazha Grama Panchayath. Milk and the value added products of milk viz., curd, ghee, peda, paneer, cake, ice cream, sip up are available in Milky Latte Outlet. The value added products of Milky Latte would be available in bakeries in the countryside as well. The  Milky Latte Outlet is situated in Kaanam junction of Changanassery-Madhura road.  The outlet functions under the leadership of Kangazha CDS of Kottayam. It is also planned to launch Milky Latte products to the markets of the other districts as well. Kudumbashree Mission had entered the dairy products segment by launching Milky Latte brand.

An RO Plant was inaugurated at Payyanur Municipality premises to make avail pure drinking water during scorching summer.  Shri.C. Krishnan MLA, inaugurated the RO Plant on 25 May 2019. Shri. S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission was the chief guest of the function.The RO plant opened at Payyanur Municipality office premises is located near to Payyanur bus stand. A four member team comprising of Smt. Divya.P, Smt. Leena K.V, Smt. Praseeda K and Smt. Nanda Surendran is entrusted with the charge of running the RO plant and supply the drinking water cans.

The bottled drinking water is named as ‘Sheethalam’. Kudumbashree had launched the idea of launching a Reverse Osmosis Plant to produce bottled drinking water, as part of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission Project being implemented in Kerala.  

Kudumbashree is implementing the project with the help of New Delhi based Dharna Infrastructure Private Limited. The public need to give a nominal charge of just Rs 30 for 20 litres of pure drinking water. The plant has the capacity to purify 500 litres of water per hour. The water is purified using reverse osmosis technology to treat the filtered water. The water will be then purified through ultraviolet treatment and the purity of the water is ensured. Rs. 12,75,000 is the total project cost out of which Rs 6,37,500 lakhs was the share of  Urban Local Body (ULB) and the rest of the project cost  (Rs 6,37,500) was funded through the loan availed by Kudumbashree members. 

Water Vending Machine, which would enable the consumer to avail 1 litre of water at a rate of Rs 1 would be open soon. It is also planned to extend the activities of the RO plant and to extend the same to the next phase. The demand for purified drinking water can be better converted into an enterprise opportunity and the Mission intends to open more such plants  across the state. 'Sheethalam’, purified drinking water, distributed to the people of Payyanur in reasonable prices during this time of water scarcity is really being a boon to many.

In Shape Ladies fitness centre, a service enterprise promoted by NULM is opened at Tirur Municipality. Mrs. Ranjini.K, a resident of Tirur is the proprietor of the venture. Fitness service for ladies, Karate training for ladies and students, Cinematic dance training for students and yoga classes are the services provided in 'In Shape' Fitness Centre.  The fitness centre functions at Adeepat tower situated in the heart of the Tirur town. The premise is easily reachable to each customer. Unit is surrounded by elite families, central schools, convention centers and flat apartments. The unit can assure a better business based on the each surrounding elements.

Nowadays, body fitness had became an inevitable routine in modern life. Lack of awareness about the lifestyle deceases and unhealthy foods generated an unhealthy society. However people who consider their fitness, are always the part of organic food and fitness business sector. It is the opportunity behind the venture. In Shape Ladies fitness centre is a unique enterprise of NULM Tirur. The venture can assure a better growth through each supporting elements surrounded with the unhealthy community. The enterprise also provide employment for 2 skilled persons.

The problem of obesity has been particularly increase in urban area ,as there is a drastic change in living standards and life style of people over the recent years.It is for addressing such health issues caused because of unhealthy life style that the wellness centre was launched. Self Employment Programme Component of NULM focus on financial assistance to individuals/groups of urban poor for setting up gainful self-employment ventures/ micro-enterprises, suited to their skills, training, aptitude and local conditions.

For the first time in Kerala, counseling centers were started at the police stations across the district by Kudumbashree Pathanamthitta district Mission. A large number of cases can be solved through counselling or mediation which comes to police stations every day. Till now, a total of 161 cases have been reported to the police station counseling centers including 66 domestic violence cases, 18 cases on atrocities against children, 41 counseling cases, 24 family problem related issues, and 12 cases from various other categories. 20 cases have been referred to Snehitha, 2 to health department and 2 to Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) directly from these centers.

The problems can be solved properly only after giving them an opportunity to ventilate, which may take so much of time. But mostly the policemen may not be able to give their time and attention for so long. Thus, what ultimately happens is that, they just calls them, threatens them and sends them back. But this does not solve the problem completely or permanently. The Kudumbashree counselling centres at Police Station were able to solve this problem by giving them an opportunity to ventilate freely without any barrier. People who comes to the station with domestic issues are directed to the counseling centre. There are couples may with adaptive problems, financial issues, sexual problems and domestic violence.

This centre also provide common platform to women to address their problem, protect their rights, solve their grievances and provide necessary guidance. This counseling centre at police station works for reconciliation between the couple to convenience them of leading the life instead of breaking up. People can approach the centre for the reconciliation to avoid divorce .There are some cases related to children are leaving home to love failure, cases related to misuse of internet and mobile phones etc. In the case of such teenagers we provide counseling to the entire family and also give awareness to the good parenting. The starting of these centers was a matter of great relief for the police men as well as the clients. These counseling centers will be opened on 2 days a week and the community counselor in charge of respective CDS, and a staff from Snehitha Gender Help Desk will be present there on these days.

The first of its kind of a centre was set up at Adoor Police Station on 17 November 2017. The same was inaugurated by Shri. Jose R, DYSP, Adoor, Following this, counseling centers were started at Pandalam and Aranmula police stations was well. The Counseling Centre at Pandalam Police Station was inaugurated by Shri. Jose, DYSP on 7 December 2017 and the counseling centre at Aranmula police station was inaugurated by the Hon. Smt. Veena George, MLA, Aranmula. More police stations are welcoming this kind of Snehitha Community Counselling centers in their police stations.

Following the huge turnover received by setting up canteens on election day, Kudumbashree members set up temporary canteens at counting centres on 23 May 2018. Temporary Canteens were set up at Malappuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kasargod districts of Kerala. Food was made available starting from 6 AM in all counting centres in Malappuram District.  In Kollam, food for 2000 people including counting agents and police were prepared. In Pathanamthitta, food was arranged for 1500 people including counting staff and agent.In Ernakulam, tea and juice corner was started at the counting station. In Kazaragod, counters were set up for providing snacks, lunch and juice. They had been serving food even to the common public as well. In Kanhangad, coupons worth Rs. 1.5 lakhs were sold in advance. 

Kudumbashree Mission had partnered with the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala (CEO) for providing various services during Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Kudumbashree Mission had been entrusted by the various District Electoral Offices in Kerala for various activities such as providing food in training centres, arranging food for polling officials, printing, data entry works, Harithakarmasena for maintaining green protocol etc. As per the directions of the respective District collectors and under the leadership of Kudumbashree District Mission offices, Kudumbashree women had set canteens at the despatch centres and distribution centres for catering food to the officials in charge of conducting elections. Kudumbashree members had set up a total of 100 canteens across the state and had made a turnover of Rs 1.28 crores during the polling day. Rangashree teams of Kudumbashree Mission had presented street plays for spreading awareness on SVEEP in selected spots in 5 districts.

Through this partnering, Kudumbashree Mission envisaged at including these common women in the democratic process thereby ensuring absolute women empowerment in all arenas of their lives.

The Bala Parliament organised by Kudumbashree Mission set a noteworthy representation of Balasabha Children. Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala inaugurated the Bala Parliament held at Old Legislative Assembly Hall on 22 May 2019. Selected 140 students from 14 districts across the state took part in the programme. After the Bala Parliament, the Balasabha children also visited the New Legislative Assembly Complex.

Students were divided into different groups and out of them 20 students were identified for the roles of President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Opposition Leader and Ministers of various departments. Abhimanyu A.S from Thiruvananthapuram, Surya Suresh from Kottayam, Adithya from Kannur, Abhishek.L. Namboothiri from Kottayam and Aleena from Alappuzha played the roles of Prime Minister, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, President and Opposition Leader respectively. 

Smt. Asha Vargheese, Director, Kudumbashree Mission welcomed the gathering and Smt. Hemalatha C.K,  District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Malappuram DIstrict Mission extended Vote of Thanks. Shri. K.P Anil, Private Secretary to Minister, LSGD, Shri. A Santhosh Kumar, Additional Private Secretary to Minister, LSGD, Smt. G.S Amrida, Programme Officer, Social Development, Kudumbashree Mission, Shri. Jijin Gangadharan, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree Mission, Shri.Jomon, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree Mission, District Programme Managers,  Block Co-ordinators and Resource Persons also attended the programme.

The prime objective of constituting Balasabhas is to prevent inter-generational transmission of poverty through capability enhancement of children. Small Learning Groups for experimental and systematic learning, opportunities for understanding democratic process, participation in conserving environment, enabling children to unfold the intricacies of collectivization are the basic focal points of Balasabha. Bala Parliament is being conducted by Kudumbashree Mission starting from 2007 to educate the children and to make them aware and understand  the democratic process and its importance.

The Bala Parliament organised by Kudumbashree Mission set a noteworthy representation of Balasabha Children. Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala inaugurated the Bala Parliament held at Old Legislative Assembly Hall on 22 May 2019. Selected 140 students from 14 districts across the state took part in the programme. After the Bala Parliament, the Balasabha children also visited the New Legislative Assembly Complex.
 

Students were divided into different groups and out of them 20 students were identified for the roles of President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Opposition Leader and Ministers of various departments. Abhimanyu A.S from Thiruvananthapuram, Surya Suresh from Kottayam, Adithya from Kannur, Abhishek.L. Namboothiri from Kottayam and Aleena from Alappuzha played the roles of Prime Minister, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, President and Opposition Leader respectively. 

Smt. Asha Vargheese, Director, Kudumbashree Mission welcomed the gathering and Smt. Hemalatha C.K,  District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Malappuram DIstrict Mission extended Vote of Thanks. Shri. K.P Anil, Private Secretary to Minister, LSGD, Shri. A Santhosh Kumar, Additional Private Secretary to Minister, LSGD, Smt. G.S Amrida, Programme Officer, Social Development, Kudumbashree Mission, Shri. Jijin Gangadharan, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree Mission, Shri.Jomon, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree Mission, District Programme Managers,  Block Co-ordinators and Resource Persons also attended the programme.

The prime objective of constituting Balasabhas is to prevent inter-generational transmission of poverty through capability enhancement of children. Small Learning Groups for experimental and systematic learning, opportunities for understanding democratic process, participation in conserving environment, enabling children to unfold the intricacies of collectivization are the basic focal points of Balasabha. Bala Parliament is being conducted by Kudumbashree Mission starting from 2007 to educate the children and to make them aware and understand  the democratic process and its importance.

Marking the 21st anniversary of Kudumbashree Mission, Kudumbashree Thiruvananthapuram District Mission organised 'Veetiloru Kudumbashree Ulppannam' Campaign (A Kudumbashree Product in every household) on 17 May 2019 to the entire households in the district. All Kudumbashree members in the district became part of the campaign. Products from over 1600 Kudumbashree micro enterprises in the district as well as the products of Kudumbashree Joint Liability Groups (JLG) including variety of pickles and organic vegetables, and all sorts of household products were distributed to the customers. An amount of Rs 83.81 lakhs was recorded as the total turnover of the campaign. A total of 3,65,312 houses in the district were covered as part of the campaign.

Shri. V.S Achuthananthan, Shri. G. Sudhakaran, Minister for Public Works Department and Registration, Government of Kerala, Shri. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, Shri. T.K. Jose IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala, Shri. S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission, Shri. V K Prasanth, Mayor, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Shri. V K Madhu, President, District Panchayath and other representatives of the local self-government bodies in the district and other prominent political and cultural organizations became part of the campaign.

The campaign helped in promoting the products of Kudumbashree micro enterprises. Quality products were distributed among the rural, urban areas and tribal areas with the co-ordination of CDS. The programme was launched a month before and posters and boards were placed in different places to gather more publicity. Meetings were assembled for each micro enterprise units under the CDS and the progress was evaluated. Kudumbashree members under each CDSs distributed the products to the households. The Campaign was organised in Parassala, Perumkadavila, Athiyannoor, Nemom, Pothencode, Vellanad, Nedumangadu, Vamanapuram, Kilimanoor, Chirayankeezhu, Varkala, Nedumangad, Attingal ULB, Varkala, Neyyatinkara ULB and Corporation blocks in the district.

Kudumbashree join hands with Meat Products of India for arranging chicken buy back system for 100 broiler farms of Kudumbashree in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Thrissur districts of Kerala. The MoU regarding the same was signed between Shri. S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission & Dr. A.S Bijulal, Managing Director, Meat Products of India at Kudumbashree State Mission Office, Thiruvananthapuram on 18 May 2019.  

The  association was delayed due to the uncertainty in giving payments for the broiler farmers and the issue was solved when Kudumbashree Broiler Farmers Producer Company came into being. From now, Kudumbashree Broiler Farmers Producer Company will give payments to the broiler farmers on the same day of buying back the chicken, based on the weight report from Meat Products of India Ltd. Kudumbashree Broiler Farmers Producer Company will also make avail chicks, chicken feed, medicines, technical supervision and Janani  Broiler Insurance Scheme at affordable rates.

Meat Products of India Ltd (MPI) is a major Indian meat processing, packaging, and distribution company.  MPI is a public sector undertaking. The company holds a category A No.1 license from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India for the manufacture and marketing of meat and meat products.

Shri. P C Musthafa, young entrepreneur and founder of iD Fresh Food India Pvt. Ltd addressed the officials of Kudumbashree Mission at the leadership training programme held at Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Pookkode, Wayanad on 18 May 2019.  The District Mission Coordinators, Assistant District Mission Coordinators and officials from Kudumbashree State Mission attended the leadership training led by Shri. P. C Musthafa.

From a school dropout to an IIM graduate, it is the determination and self confidence that made P C Musthafa, the CEO of a Rs 160 crore turnover company. Shri. P. C Musthafa shared about his entrepreneurial journey and how he succeeded in making his small enterprise into a greater success. As a widely celebrated entrepreneur, he has been lauded with many prestigious awards like JCI national award, Vocational excellence award, Entrepreneur India award etc. iD Fresh Food India Pvt. Ltd was founded by Musthafa and his cousins out of a small kitchen in Bangalore during 2005.  Now P C Musthafa and his team is serving homes across the country and Middle East with a team of more than 1500+ employees.The company also sells ready-made Malabar parottas and chapatis (whole wheat and refined flour variants), ragi and oats idli-dosa batters, paneer, curd, vada batter and filter coffee decoction. Prior to his journey as an entrepreneur, P C Musthafa had worked with a few MNCs  across India, Europe, and the Middle-East. 

Shri. P. C Musthafa motivated the officials on how to achieve success with self confidence and determination. The leadership training led by Shri. P.C Musthafa was indeed a great experience for the officials of Kudumbashree Mission.