'My ME' State Level Workshop was conducted at Kites Training Centre, Pongumoodu,Thiruvananthapuram on 30 October 2018. “My ME” project envisaged the adoption of one micro enterprise by one program manager, as a part of “Year of Micro Enterprises” Campaign. A total of 400 employees took My ME project out of which 87 people made real difference in the ME Sector and also presented in the District Level Workshop and each district selected one person from the pool and nominated for State Level Workshop. The nominated employees presented their projects and the Best Performers in the State Level were selected.

Shri. UnniKrishnan, District Programme Manager, SVEP, Pathanamthitta came in the first place. Shri. Binish Sebastian, District Programme Manager, DDUGKY, Kottayam came second and Shri. Gireesh Kumar.T, Assistant District Mission Co-ordinator, Kozhikode and Shri. Nabeel, Block Coordinator, Malappuram came in third place. Shri. Monish Mohan, Block Coordinator, Kasargod received Special Jury Mention. Shri. Jagjeevan. N, Consultant, Haritha Kerala Mission and Shri. Dathan. C.S, Programme Officer,Agriculture, Kudumbashree Mission were the jury who selected the Best Performers who made a real difference to the production, marketing and profit of the Micro Enterprises.

The tastes and ethnic cuisines of Kudumbashree women will also mark the crease in the 5th One day International between India and West Indies match at Kariyavattom Green Field Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. The One Day International which is scheduled to be conducted on 1 November 2018 will be characterized not just as the match between the titans of cricket but also as the match between the mouth watering ethnic dishes catered by Cafe Kudumbashree units. 

The stands of the Green Field stadium will experience both the intense battle at the pitch and also the tasty dishes delivered hot, spicy and tasty from Kudumbashree women. 11 Cafe Kudumbashree units across Thiruvananthapuram will cater ethnic dishes ranging from tea, snacks to spicy biriyani and pathiri with juicy yet tasty curries of Thiruvananthapuram delicacies.These units are brought under the banner of delicacies of Ananthapuri by the Kudumbashree Thiruvananthapuram District Mission. 

Kudumbashree was also present among the stands as the official food partner of the match last year when India faced New Zealand in the first ever T20 match hosted at Kariyavattom Green Field Stadium. While India registered a convincing victory over New Zealand, there was also these culinary experts of Kudumbashree registering over Rs. 3.5 lakhs sales and also the hearts of fans who came cheering for India and the greater game of cricket.

It's time to cheer for India and also for these Kudumbashree women who are going to script another saga of taste and quality food just like Kohli structures his perfect straight drive! Come on India! Come on Kudumbashree !

Kudumbashree Mission contributes an additional amount of Rs 4.18 crore to CMDRF, which altogether make a whopping total of Rs 11.18 crores. Shri. S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission handed over the cheque to Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala in the presence of Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister for Local Self Governments, Government of Kerala at Chief Minister's Chamber on 31 October 2018.

Kudumbashree Mission had already contributed an amount of Rs 7 Crore to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. It is in addition to that, Rs 4.18 Crore is contributed. The major part of the amount was mobilized locally by pooling the weekly thrift collection of the NHG members based on the request of the Executive Director of Kudumbashree Mission. NHGs pooled those funds from various sources such as their contributions; amount kept aside for Onam celebrations etc was also added towards the cause. Apart from this, the Resource Persons, members of the Kudumbashree Accounts and Audit Service Society (KAASS) and Training Group Members had also made their individual contributions.

Even though majority of Kudumbashree members were badly affected by the flood, they have been in the forefront in the relief activity and cleaning exercises as well. Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) is the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases.

'Harithajeevanam'- the state wide street play campaign for the publicity of Organic Farming are progressing in various districts across the state. The Street Play is visualized and presented by Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission. The ultimate aim of the campaign is to aware the society about the importance and benefits of the organic farming as well as the harmful side effects of the farming using chemical fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizers may lead to atmospheric pollution, climate change and also different diseases like cancer. 

Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.

Organic farming is the method of cultivation which helps to keep the land live and healthy using organic/ biological manures. It also involves the ecologically balanced agricultural principles like crop rotation, green manure, organic waste, biological pest control, mineral and rock additives. Rangashree team is visualizing the street play at 168 venues throughout Kerala, 12 street plays at each district during 15-30 October 2018. The campaign has attracted a great mass of population. 

DDUGKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameeen Kaushalya Yojana) the skilling and placement programme for which Kudumbashree Mission is the nodal agency for the implementation in Kerala, along with TiE has hosted 'DDUGKY, Kudumbashree TiE Kerala Summit' at The Gateway Hotel, Kochi on 27 October 2018. Shri. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission spoke on the 'Scope of DDUGKY- Industry Convergence'. An open forum of Idea Sharing, Q&A Session and way forward was also followed by the presentation.

Delivering the keynote address, he stressed on the points of convergence between DDUGKY and the industry. The industry shall contribute by identifying the skill gap in various sectors, so that DDUGKY could train the students specifically in those sectors. Harikishore said.The industry may also take advantage of recruiting from among more than 35,000 well trained candidates and may also customize training to suit the needs of the organisation and place them in their organisation, thus ensuring captive placement for candidates and lessening the training cost of the organisation. Mr. Neelakantan G Nair, Senior Associate Member of TiE Kerala who spoke on the occasion stressed the need of continuous engagement between the industry and the flagship DDUGKY skilling programme, so that candidates and the industry would benefit.

TiE Global is a nonprofit organization devoted to entrepreneurs in all industries, at all stages, from incubation, throughout the entrepreneurial life cycle. With a global reach and a local focus, the heart of TiE efforts lies in its five foundational programs, – Mentoring, Networking, Education, Funding, and Incubation.The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. Shri. T.P Geevargheese, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission welcomed the gathering. Ms. Vijayam.K, Assistant District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission delivered vote of thanks.

The Street play campaign by the Rangashree teams for the publicity of Navakerala Lottery had attracted masses.The Directorate of Kerala Lotteries, Government of Kerala launched Navakerala Lottery in an aim to collect additional fund towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood rehabilitation activities and for Rebuilding Kerala. The Government of Kerala had assigned Kudumbashree Mission as an agency to sell tickets to increase the sales of the Navakerala Lottery.

Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission had conducted street play campaign for the publicity of the sales of the Navakerala lotteries throughout the state in convergence with the Directorate of Kerala State Lotteries Government of Kerala. Named as ‘Athijeevanathinte Paathayil’ the street play visualized the impacts of the massive flood in Kerala and how the unity of civilians and government helping the state to overcome the massive disaster. The street play also focused on the need of fund raising for Rebuilding Kerala and the role of Navakerala lottery in it. The script, songs and the poems were written by the Rangashree teams themselves. Nine Rangashree teams conducted the street play at 112 various venues across Kerala. There were eight venues arranged in each district. The street play was widely appreciated by the audience. The sale of Navakerala lotteries also took place in all the venues. Kudumbashree Women was proactive in selling the Navakerala lottery tickets and had sold tickets worth Rs 9.23 crore.

Balasabha Children from Kollam are active in extending services converging with Snehitha Gender Help Desk. The Balasabha children has become the part of the house visit of 'Snehitha Calling Bell programme', an initiative to help elderly people living alone in homes.The children are active in visiting the real beneficiaries of the programme in their respective localities, in a way are helping the Snehitha Gender Help Desk. On visiting the lonely elderly people, the children are communicating with them as well.

As per the statistics, 1255 people had been identified as beneficiaries for 'Snehitha Calling Bell Programme in Kollam District. Out of the 1255 beneficiaries, the Balasabha children have already visited 358 beneficiaries. It was found that the visit of the children had evoked a sense of self confidence among the beneficiaries.The home visits to the houses of the lonely elderly people are ongoing in the district. The Snehitha Calling Bell Programme envisions social integration of senior citizens who lead an isolated life in their homes by connecting them with NHG groups and gradually integrating them with the society by visiting and speaking to them.

A legal clinic had started functioning at Snehitha Gender Help Desk of Palakkad District with the help of District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to spread its services to the grass root level of society and to ensure that everyone should have access to legal awareness and justice regardless of their income for those who cannot afford them.Snehitha Legal Cinic had started working from September 2018.

Snehitha Legal Clinic would offer the needy to avail all help and support from the other Government Services and to empower people to achieve inclusion, independence and justice by providing free, quality representation to overcome legal obstacles and other problems under umbrella.  

Legal assistance would be given to the clients by a woman advocate on every wednesdays during 2 PM to 5 PM. The woman advocate would help them to overcome legal issues by giving legal advice and legal service. Snehitha will contact the clients who need legal assistance, those who already registered a case in Snehitha and link them with the advocate and follow up through District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).

Sanjeevani Agri Therapy, the innovative programme launched by Kudumbashree Mission at its BUDS and BRC institutions across the state are working wonders among the mentally challenged children. As, physical, mental happiness and exercises are very much needed for the persons with disability for bringing out the inherent talents within the mentally challenged children, Kudumbashree Mission tried different models through which the children can be active, motivated and productive. Different districts came up with different initiatives for the same. Training the BRC beneficiaries in livelihood activities to generate some income was the motive behind the activities of all districts in their initiatives. All the districts practiced different activities to make the children motivated. During that time Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram districts introduced Agri therapy in the BUDS institutions. The district initiative of Malappuram District was named as ‘Thalir’ and the district initiative of Thiruvananthapuram was named as ‘Jaiva Mukulam’.

As this programme received much acceptance from the children and the society, Kudumbashree State Mission decided to extend Agri therapy to all the BUDS institutions in 2018 and named it as “Sanjeevani”. As soon after the introduction of the programme, all the institutions came forward with enthusiasm to start Sanjeevani. All the Local Self Government Institutions provided 2 cents land for the children to cultivate vegetables. In the Sanjeevani programme, Ernakulam District made a step forward by finding one and half acre land for the children to involve in the Agri therapy. The Agri-therapy programme envisages at the mental and physical development of the individuals at BUDS and BRC through vegetable cultivation. In this project a minimum of 2 cents of land would be used for cultivation by the students. These lands can be either the school premises itself or adjoining lands used by the Joint Liability Groups (JLGs). A training session (to cover the supply of inputs) to school was done at the rate of 5000 per school. A master was assigned the duty of managing the plot, he who would visit the plot each week and guide the students. The BUDS institutions are cultivating vegetables like peas, ladies finger, spinach, brinjal, green chilli and tomato. A total of 144 schools are practicing Agri Therapy in 345 cents of land across the state.

Horticultural therapy is a time-proven practice and now it is accepted as a beneficial and effective therapeutic modality. It is widely used within a broad range of rehabilitative, vocational, and community settings. Horticultural therapy techniques are employed to assist participants to learn new skills or regain those that are lost. Horticultural therapy helps improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. In physical rehabilitation, horticultural therapy can help strengthen muscles and improve coordination, balance, and endurance. In vocational horticultural therapy settings, people learn to work independently, problem solve, and follow directions. BUDS Schools are free and open special schools for mentally challenged children of poor families, owned and managed by the Local Self Government Institutions under the support and guidance of Kudumbashree Mission and the community structure. Whereas, BUDS Rehabilitation Centres (BRCs) are day care centres for mentally challenged persons which are intended to fill a gap in the State’s existing system for providing care to the mentally challenged that caters only to persons up to 18 years of age. BRCs are meant for those who have already undergone special education through BUDS Schools or other centres. However, centres are also open to mentally challenged children who are unable to attend schools. BRCs are meant to train and support persons with special needs for equipping them with skills that make them employable. There are 114 BRCs and 88 BUDS Schools in Kerala which make a total of 202 BUDS institutions in Kerala.

Kudumbashree Women were proactively selling the Navakerala Lottery which was launched by the Directorate of Kerala Lotteries, Government of Kerala in an aim to collect additional fund towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood rehabilitation activities and for Rebuilding Kerala. Kudumbashree Women had sold lottery tickets worth Rs 9.23 crore. As part of the lottery selling, 1054 CDS out of 1064 CDS had took up the casual agency. Through this 18,252 Kudumbashree women sold the Navakerala Lottery tickets across the state. More than 3.69 lakhs of lottery tickets were sold by the Kudumbashree members. In connection with this, Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission had also performed street plays for the publicity of the sales of the Navakerala lotteries throughout the state. Kudumbashree Accounts and Audit Service Society (KAASS), Micro Enterprises Consultant (MEC) and other training groups had also took up the casual agency for selling Navakerala Lottery tickets and were active in selling the same.

The Government of Kerala launched the Navakerala lottery in a bid to collect additional funds towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF),the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. Government of Kerala had entrusted Kudumbashree Mission as an agency to sell tickets to increase the sales of the Navakerala Lottery.