Pink Ladder, the women-only construction unit of Kozhikode Corporation completed the construction of the first two houses. Shri. A. K Saseendran, Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala handed over the key of the first house constructed by Pink Ladder on 6 January 2019. Smt. Nandini, a destitute woman from Karuvasseri, Kozhikode is the beneficiary of the project. Smt. Nandini’s house is the first house constructed by women in the State’s urban belt.

The Pink Ladder has constructed the houses under the PMAY(Prathan Mantri Awas Yojana) Scheme at a cost of Rs 4 lakh each.The women construction group completed the construction of the house in 53 days. The construction group members were trained by the Eksat Training Institute and they completed the construction within 53 days. The houses are also fitted with solar panels under sponsorship.

The Pink Ladder was founded on 1 November 2018. The foundation for the two houses were laid on the same day itself. Both houses are 400 square feet in size, with a bedroom, hall, kitchen, and an attached bathroom. The two Pink Ladder units have 15 members each. The Pink Ladder team is now gearing up to take up more projects

Kudumbashree Wellness Centre is opened at Kunnamkulam Municipality of Thrissur district of Kerala to address the lifestyle diseases caused by the unhealthy food habits. Life style diseases are quite common in Kunnamkulam Municipality. The health issues can be reduced to a large extend by practicing yoga or physical fitness exercises and there arise the scope of a Wellness centre.

Kudumbashree Welless centre is one of the initiatives implemented in Kunnamkulam Municipality after assessing the demand. The wellness centre is launched as NULM individual enterprises for men and women. Named as 'Bull International Wellness Centre' the centre is fully equipped for women and men with adequate parking facility and all are viable for economic and social context. This centre includes a yoga trainer, dietitian and a gym trainer.

The certified yoga trainer of the wellness centre give the three vital components that make the practice whole: breathing exercise, body postures and meditation to the clients. The dietitian works closely with clients who are over weight, have medical illness that prevent them from losing weight , diabetes etc and also help clients make meal plans and change the course of their life with the food they eat each day.The certified gym trainer give the fitness classes which consist of heavy duty treadmill, motorized treadmill, orbit rack steel type machine , leg press machine etc. Smt. Sudha, one of the Kudumbashree member is the yoga trainer and Shri. Jiju Mon, the entrepreneur himself is the certified gym trainer of the wellness centre.

A total of Rs 8 lakhs was invested in the enterprise and was done through NULM bank loan and beneficiary share. Rs 6 lakh was availed as loan and Rs 2 lakh was the beneficiary share. The Wellness Centre have a total of 6 shifts of 1 hour each everyday . A shift can maximum incorporate around 10 persons. Rs 1500 is the fee per month.

The percentage of women who are over weight or obese in Kerala is 28% .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.

As part of supporting women for self-employment and women empowerment, the NULM City Mission Management Unit took the initiative of forming women construction unit in Kunnamkulam. The NULM City Mission Management Unit conducted a mobilization campaign for Kudumbashree members and formed a Construction unit which consisted 10 members. Training for the construction team was commenced during October 2018 and the training was imparted by Thrissur District Labour Contract Co- Operative Society, an accredited construction agency.

The construction unit had acquired the skill training for various trades in the construction industry like stone bonding, tile works, plumbing, electrical works, well construction, bathroom construction, arch construction, brick level testing, side wall construction, compound wall construction, mason works, painting etc. A loan amount of Rs. 2 lakhs has been sanctioned from the Kerala Gramin Bank, Kunnamkulam branch. During October 2018 itself, the unit started the construction of a PMAY house. Smt.Kani Thulasi is the beneficiary of the house. The construction of the house is carried out under the supervision of Thrissur District Labour Contract Co- Operative Society. The team have the confidence that they can complete work and that they will be able to handover the key soon.

Adding yet another feather to their cap, Kudumbashree Construction Groups take up the construction of PMAY houses at Kollam Corporation. The Kudumbashree Construction groups from Kollam will build 24 PMAY houses at Kollam Corporation. It is as part of rehabilitating the residents at the Alakkukuzhy slum in the cantonment division of Kollam that the houses are being constructed. The houses would be constructed at Mundakkal, Kollam. A total of 20 houses of 500 sqft area will be built in each 3 cents of land.The expenses of the construction would be met from the PMAY fund and the additional amount from the fund of Kollam Corporation. The contract regarding the same had been signed between Kudumbashree and Kollam Corporation on 17 November 2018. As per the contract, Kollam Corporation handed over the land to Kudumbashree Construction groups on 15 December 2018. The foundation stone of the houses were laid by Adv. V.Rajendra Babu, Mayor, Kollam corporation on 31 December 2018.

Two Kudumbashree construction groups from Kollam Corporation will be in charge of the construction of the houses. In addition, constrcution team members from Sasthamkotta, Shooranad, Kottarakkara and those who got trained through NULM, DDUGKY etc would become part of the programme. It is planned to complete the construction works within 1 year time.

The Balagothra Sabha Kalolsavam-Aatam 2018, organised by the Attappady Comprehensive Tribal Development and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Development Project, National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Attappady attracted many.  A total of 2000 students from 136 Balagothra Sabhas became part of the three day Balagothra Sabha Kalolsavam held at Attappady.

Competitions were conducted in 70 various items  including tribal dance, drama, elocution in tribal language etc. The youth festival was organised giving prominence to such art forms which were denied in other youth festival. The youth festival was inaugurated by Smt. Leela Santhosh, upcoming movie director from the tribal category. Kallakkara tribal hamlet became the overall champions of Aatam 2018. Pottikkal hamlet and Varagampaadi hamlet came in the second and third place respectively. Gajendran Kulkur won the 'Kalaprathibha' title and Vishnu Priya and Deepa won the 'Kalathilakam' title. The youth festival was indeed a new experience for children as well as the audience.

Mother Kitchen and Take away counter is offering nutritious and healthy food at Kozhikode. Kudumbashree Mission has created its brand in Canteen and restaurants, it has now come out with a diverse concept called Mother Kitchen and Take away counters. The idea behind the concept is that the food would be cooked in a central location kitchen and would be marketed through take away counters or outlets. Mother kitchens menu comprises of nutritious and healthy food. In this busy world, mother kitchen cum take away counter is a helping hand for office personnel’s under Kozhikode corporation.

The NULM (National Urban Livelihoods Mission) team had explained about the innovative projects in an Area Development Society (ADS) meeting and a group with three members from 63rd division of Kozhikode Corporation expressed their willingness to start the Mother Kitchen and Take Away. The group consists of three members from three different Neighborhood groups. Smt. Shyamala from Azhakodi NHG, Smt. Sandhya from Nandanam NHG and Smt. Sunitha from Subhasree NHG are the members of the group. Within limited time, 'Ruchikkoot' Mother Kitchen and Take Away Counter was started on 24 November 2018.

In the initial time the group did’t had a location to set the take away outlet and the same was discussed with Kozhikode District Mission. With the help of Kozhikode District Mission, the unit managed to get the offer to start the Mother Kitchen at Government Veterinary Hospital, Kozhikode. As it is located near to NGO Union office and other different shops, it is really a great opportunity for the Kudumbashree group.

The Mother Kitchen and Take Away Counter was started with a total investment of Rs 2.5 lakhs as loan in the beginning stage and out of that Rs 1.9 lakhs was availed through NULM's Self Employment Programme. The Self Employment Programme focus on financial assistance to individuals or groups of urban poor for setting up gainful self-employment ventures or micro-enterprises, suited to their skills, training, aptitude and local conditions. The under-employed and unemployed urban poor will be encouraged to set up small enterprises relating to manufacturing, servicing and petty business for which there is considerable local demand.

Nataraja Kalasamithi is Kudumbashree's first transgender dance group formed under Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission during November 2018. The Nataraja Kalasamithi was formed by 5 transgenders from Ernakulam district of Kerala. The members of the group include Amrutha, Saya, Faizal Faizu, Mereena and Shalu. Amrutha and Mereena are the President and Secretary of the group.

Almost all the members of the group are trans-women.They were living in Ernakulam for the past five years and had tried so many ways to get some job but nobody responded and finally they went to the Kudumbashree office seeking help. And later they joined Kudumbashree and formed a transgender NHG group named Lakshya. The NHG meets every sunday evening and have started accumulating their thrift. On consulting with Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission they realized that there is a project for them named Prathyasha which provide assistance to start a business.

When they seriously thought of a livelihood initiatives, they put forward the proposal to start a dance troop. Recognizing their talent, district mission also agreed to support them in this venture. The District Mission provided financial support to procure the stage properties. They consulted Ernakulam District Mission co-coordinator and ensured that they will get as many chances for performance. Now they are performing cinematic dance, epic dance dramas and bale. There are another 12 transgender artists cooperating with the troop as per need. Now they are getting more and more stages after each performance. Besides the stages, they perform various art forms in processions of temples, churches and other organisations. They are also getting opportunities to perform for commercial advertisements as well. They also became part of Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission working to explore the ideas of Kudumbashree towards the community which allocate the members towards the different programs of LSGDs in the district. The team members of Nataraja Kalasamithi is thankful to Kudumbashree Mission for helping them achieve their goals.

Kudumbashree Mission had successfully conducted a training course on the ‘Basic methods in Community Education and Counselling for Community Counsellors of Kudumbashree’ in collaboration with Department of Psychology, University of Kerala from 3-7 December 2018. The valedictory function of the training was inaugurated and certificate distribution was done by Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister for Local Self Governments, Government of Kerala on 7 December 2018. The programme was inaugurated by Smt. T.N Seema, Chairperson, Harithakerala Mission and Kudumbashree Governing Body Member on 3 December 2018. Kudumbashree Mr. S Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission interacted with the participants regarding the activities and future plans after the inaugural function. The training was conducted at Kariyavattom Campus, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. 350 counsellors from all the 14 districts across Kerala participated in the programme.

Detail sessions were conducted by eminent academicians and practitioners in eight parallel sessions. The training included wide topics such as counselling skills, yoga, positive thinking, happiness, personal development, premarital counselling, identification of behavioral problems, mental health issues, ethics to be followed, referrals to mental health services etc. Assessment examinations were conducted everyday in all the classrooms. Dr. Tissy Mariam Thomas, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology was the training coordinator of the programme.

There are 350 community Counsellors in the Kudumbashree network to give support and guidance to the community. They are the trained persons selected from among the Kudumbashree members. Community counsellors are involved with gender self learning activities by providing psycho social support, case study and analysis, crisis management, home visit etc. They mostly deal with cases related to gender based violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse, harassment, human trafficking, educational issues of children and referral services. They conduct awareness programmes and deal cases registered in the Gender Resource Centers and counseling centers of Kudumbashree Mission. Over these years, community counselors in the state dealt with a wide variety of cases and given them adequate support needed. The training programme enabled the community counsellors to identify and intervene in the wide variety of programmes they deal with.

Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission launched Mukulam BUDS Balasabha. Mukulam BUDS Balasabha is set up for the mentally challenged students at BUDS Schools, who didn't get chance to become part of Balasabha. The Balasabha started in BUDS schools are collectively named as 'Mukulam Balasabha'. The official inauguration of the Mukulam Balasabha was held at Mattakkal Special BUDS School, Kannur on 3 December 2018 as part of the International Day of Disabled Persons. Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission formed Mukulam Balasabha in all the 14 BUDS schools in the district. BUDS School teachers, staff, parents and elected representatives also became part of the programme.

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. There are 114 BRCs and 88 BUDS Schools in Kerala which make a total of 202 BUDS institutions in Kerala. Balasabha is a collective attempt of children to ensure their participation in the democratic space at the local Government level and in their community. Small Learning Groups for experimental and systematic learning, opportunities for understanding democratic process, participation in conserving environment, enabling children to unfold the intricacies of collectivisation are the basic focal points of Balasabha.

Kudumbashree launched ARISE (Acquiring Resilience and Identity through Self Employment), the state level campaign for extending skill training. The campaign was launched at Thiruvananthapuram on 15 December 2018. The poster of the ARISE campaign was launched by Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister for Local Self Governments, Government of Kerala by giving to Shri S. Harikishore IAS, Exective Director, Kudumbashree Mission. The campaign aims at extending skill training to 50,000 flood affected families, thereby equipping them for paid employment. The campaign mainly aims at helping them in attaining resilience.

Those who reside in the non flood affected areas can also become part of the skill training programme. The tenure of the training programme will be 3 months. Interested men from Kudumbashree families can also become part of the programme. Along with helping people to start individual-group enterprises the campaign also aims at strengthening the micro enterprise sector of Kudumbashree. A survey was conducted using Kudumbashree Block Coordinators for finding out the sectors in which NHG women are interested. It was found that data entry, plumping, electronic repairing, electrical works, agriculture related jobs, laundry, ironing, sales, housekeeping, day care etc are the sectors in which they are interested. It was understood that by extending training they could get an income of their own which would help in eradicating their poverty.

The campaign activities are started in all districts, As per this, those who register will be given skill training. Interested people may make registrations at their respective CDSs from 15 December 2018- 1 January 2019. The training will be conducted during 1 Jan 2019 to 31 March 2019. The skill training would be extended through Government accredited training agencies and empanelled training agencies.