Women Construction Units envisaged by Kudumbashree is selected as one of the ‘Best Practices’ of Pradhan Mantra Awas Yojana (PMAY) implemented by Government of India through Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA). Executive Director, S.Harikishore, IAS presented the best practice during the National Workshop held in Vijnan Bhavan, Delhi on 23/06//2017. Two states were invited for presenting their best practices related to urban poverty alleviation It is expected that more than 3 lakh dwelling units will be constructed in Kerala during the next three years (as a part of PMAY and LIFE mission of Government of Kerala) Forming construction groups of women will provide affordable solutions to rural poor for construction of their houses and will eliminate exploitation by contractors. Also, rural women will get higher income as they are doing skilled work (construction of houses). At present, training is given to 400 women, and Kudumbashree is envisaging construction groups in every development block and in every municipality.

A tripartite agreement was signed between Jan Oushadhi, Local Self Government Department and Kudumbashree for starting Jan Oushadhi medical stores in each Panchayat or wherever feasible. Its a convergence project of local self government department and Kudumbashree. Panchayat will find out a suitable building and will give it to Kudumbashree units for running the pharma store. Kudumbashree units will have to employ a pharmacist and a computer operator to run the store. More than 450 varieties of medicines will be supplied by Jan Oushadhi. As an initial assistance, Rs. 1.5 lakh will be given to the Kudumbashree entrepreneur as capital subsidy for purchase of computers and for procurement of furniture. Further, medicines worth Rs. 1.0 lakh will be given free of cost (on credit). Using sales of these medicine, new medicines may be purchased as per requirement. At present, there is demand to start such stores in 34 Panchayats, and we are expecting demand from more places in near future.

It was a prestigious moment for Kudumbashree when Hon. Prime Minister inaugurated Kochi Metro in June 2017. The reason for pride arose from the fact that for the first time in history, an ‘all women metro’ was inaugurated and Kudumbashree got the opportunity to do the facility management services for Kochi metro. As per the agreement with Kochi Metro, all services ranging from parking management to customer facilitation, from ticketing to housekeeping are entrusted with Kudumbashree. Total demand was for 780 staff. In this first phase 530 women are selected and they are serving Kochi Metro now. When 5 more new metro stations will be commissioned by September, Kudumbashree will provide 250 more staff. The present ‘women metro team’ are selected through a rigorous process. More than 40,000 candidates appeared for the written exam, and of them 1,077 were called for a personal interview. Kudumbashree members or their families only were allowed to participate. Yes, when Metro grows, opportunities for poor women also enhances.

Karimba is a Grama Panchayat in the Palakkad District, state of Kerala. India, it is situated near the National Highway 213. The largest town in Karimba Panchayath is Kalladikode. It borders with Thachampara, Kongad and Mundur (Grama Panchayath). It was awarded the Nirmal Gram Title (sanitation). It is the local Government organization that serves the villages of Karimba...

Kudumbashree & Local Self Government Institutions should work in tandem to strengthen the Local Financial Social Development and to deliver the rights and benefits to the poorest of the poor, said Shri. M.S Vijayanand IAS (Retd), Former Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala. He inaugurated the webinar 'Kudumbashree and Local Self-Government Institutions' organized under the auspices of Kudumbashree on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of People's Planning Campaign, on 22 July 2022.

"In the Kudumbashree system, priority is given to the poor. It is necessary to find them and bring them to the mainstream of society by providing them with all the rights and benefits they deserve and reduce the gap with others. The health-education- income generation activity volunteers in the NHGs should be strengthened and their participation should be ensured in the design of the Action Plan of local bodies. The participation of Kudumbashree in health, education, agriculture and employment sectors could be increased partnering with local institutions and the protection of the elderly can be ensured by creating such associations. Implementation of women component projects is also important. The quality of Employment Guarantee Scheme should be increased and the emphasis should be give to the creation of sustainable assets. The greatest strength and achievement of Kudumbashree is the acceptance it has received at the national and international levels. Social, financial and physical capital are essential elements to strengthen this three-tier system. Human resource is yet another capital. Along with this, environmental awareness and civic awareness should also be maintained." He also added that by strengthening the power of local bodies and Kudumbashree, they should advance more strongly in the process of local economic and social development.

Dr. Joy Elamon, Director, Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) presided over the function. Shri. Nishad C.C, State Program Manager, Kudumbashree delivered the welcome speech and Dr. Myna Umaiban, Public Relations Officer, Kudumbashree extended the vote of thanks.

Twenty Tribal Bala Sabha Members from Kasaragod district are getting trained in Kalaripayattu, Kerala's unique martial art. They are receiving training at the Kudumbashree Tribal Kalari Academy, which was launched on 8 October 2022 as a unique programme of the district as part of the Scheduled Tribe Sustainable Development Project.

For the remaining two days of the week, they come to Kalari Academy and learn the basics with the same enthusiasm as they go to school for five days. The Balasabha members were selected from the CDSs in Parappa Block. The one-year long training is conducted at Anjaneya Kalari Training Centre, a Kudumbashree initiative. Shri. Manikandan Guru is the trainer. The Balasabha members comprising of 12 girls and 8 boys aged between 10 to 18 years are given training which includes self preservation and self defense training.

Balasabha members participate in Editing Workshop to create history. For the first time in the history, 25 Balasabha members were involved in the workshop for the publication of Children's Day Special Magazine, which is written and edited by Balasabha members themselves. Balasabha members selected from different districts gathered at Mariarani Convention Centre, Thiruvananthapuram on 29-30 October 2022 and did the editing work of the writings. The two-day editing workshop was inaugurated by Shri. Madhupal, Actor and Director. He also interacted with the children. He said that experiences and realizations from family and schools lead one to the world of stories and stories should be composed in such a way as to create interest in the readers.

Ms. K.A Beena, renowned writer, also conducted a class on editing. The workshop was organized under the leadership of Dr. Myna Umaiban, Public Relations Officer, Kudumbashree, Arun P. Rajan, State Programme Manager, Kudumbashree, Daniel Libni, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree and Resource Persons.

Kudumbashree had bagged  the award for the Best Food Court at 'Ente Keralam' Mega Exhibition Sales Mela held at Thekkinkadu Ground, Thrissur in connection with the First Anniversary Celebrations of the State Government. Also, Sreelakshmi Handloom, a Kudumbashree enterprise unit under Thiruvilwamala CDS, had bagged the Award for the Best Commercial Stall.

The Exhibition Sales Mela was held from 18 April 2022 to 24 April 2022. 9 Kudumbashree Cafe units became part of the food court. Various food items such as panipuri, bhelpuri, masala puri, dosa, appam, chapati, ney pathiri etc were served through these food courts. Sales of Rs 10.55 lakhs were recorded from the food court. Products of 22 Kudumbashree units were arranged in 14 product sales stalls. Sales of Rs 12.23 crores were recorded from these sales stalls. 

A cookery competition was also organized for Kudumbashree members for the promotion of the mela. The contestants were asked to make 7 different cuisines. Those who bagged first prize in the competitions at all the 16 blocks had taken part in the district level competitions held at the exhibition sales mela venue from 19 April 2022. 

Shri. K. Rajan, Minister for Revenue and Housing Government of Kerala and Shri. K. Radhakrishnan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala gave away the awards to the winners.

List of the winners of the Cookery Competitions

1.Juice/Shake

First Prize-Sunitha Sajayan (Kadukutty)

Second Prize- Muneera (Orumanayur)

Third Prize- Biji Lajeesh (Kunnamkulam)

2.Payasam

First Prize- Shobha Haridas (Punnayurkulam)

Second Prize-Jimy Joby (Kadavallur)

Third Prize-Sherly Shaju (Kodakara)

3. Traditional Food item

First Prize- Deepa Dineshan (Perinjanam)

Second Prize- Roly Jose (Chazhoor)

Third Prize-Jiji Unnikrishnan (Punnayur)

4.Squash/Jam/Jelly

First Prize- Bindu Prabhakaran (Elavally)

Second Prize- Shruthi T.S (Mattathur)

Third Prize- Bindu (Mulagunnathukavu)

5. Cake

First Prize- Saranya Babu (Perinjanam)

Second Prize- Saranya (Guruvayoor)

Third Prize- Swetha (Avinissery)

6. Puttu/Dosa

First Prize- Sheela Sivaraman (Thrissur Corporation)

Second Prize- Radhika Manoj (Irinjalakuda)

Third Prize-  Subaida K.A (Chazhoor)

7. Bakery Item

First Prize- Saritha N.S (Venkitangu)

Second Prize- Nitty Sathyajith (Puthukkad)

Third Prize- Rosily (Thiruvilwamala)

As per the new covid restrictions came into being in the state, the CDS elections were held at selected districts viz., Kollam, Kottayam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod as per the covid restrictions, on 25 January 2022. The newly selected CDS Committee took over the charge at Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts on 26 January 2022. The CDS Elections in the remaining 8 districts would be completed once the covid situations in the respective districts would improve. Earlier, Kudumbashree ADS Election in the state had been successfully completed maintaining the covid protocols.

The CDS Elections in the selected districts were held following the covid protocols. The Executive Director of Kudumbashree had issued the guidelines regarding the same on 15 January 2022.  Earlier, the Government of Kerala had given approval to conduct the elections to the three tier system to identify the new office bearers, following the covid protocols.

The elections were conducted at open spaces and at halls that had sufficient air circulation. It was also ensured that the social distancing was maintained at the areas where the elections were conducted. All General Body members wore N95 masks or double surgical masks during the elections. It was also ensured that sanitizers were used during regular intervals. Also, sanitizers were made available at the areas where the elections were held & necessary arrangements were made for washing the hands with soap and water.

To avoid crowds at the CDS elections, ADS office bearers from 5 wards each attended the elections at a time and they selected the CDS Office Bearers. For this, special time slots were given to each ward. Covid protocol was also ensured at the NHG level elections and the ADS Elections which were held across the state during 7-13 January 2022 and 16-21 January 2022, respectively.

Sargam 2022' Three Day Literary Workshop organized jointly by Kudumbashree Mission along with Kerala Sahithya Academy and Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) for Kudumbashree members has been started at Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Thrissur. Prof. K.Sachidanandan, President, Kerala Sahithya Academy inaugurated the Workshop at the function held at  KILA, Thrissur on 23 March 2022. "Women empowerment starts from the point where it is realised that women are not weak and the efforts to maintain the creative skills are part of it", said Prof.K. Sachidanandan.

"Women are loosing their creative skills after marriage because of the family and the responsibilities put by the society on women. Every girl is trained by the older women to meet the responsibilities of the family from their younger age itself. Those women who wish to enter into the literary field should have observation, skill, motivation and effort. Good literature would be formed when these come together. The conscious efforts to identify creative skills and maintain it is the way to empowerment. That's why Workshops like Sargam opens new avenues to Women Empowerment". He added. He also appreciated Kudumbashree for starting such a venture for Kudumbashree women.

Smt.Asha Varghese, Director, Kudumbashree Mission presided over the function. Prof. C.P Aboobacker, Secretary, Kerala Sahithya Academy delivered the Keynote Address. Dr. Rajesh K, Urban Senior Faculty, KILA and Ms. Sruthi A.S, District Assistant Information Officer, Thrissur delivered the felicitations. Shri. B.S Manoj, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree welcomed the gathering. Shri. Radhakrishnan K, District Mission Coordinator (in-charge), Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission delivered  vote of thanks.

Shri. Shihabudheen Poithumkadav, Ms.Deepa Nishanth, Shri. Majid Syed, Ms. Ashwini R Jeevan, Ms. Lizy, Shri. Abin Joseph, Ms. E.Sandhya, Ms. N.G Nayanathara, writers talked on various topics. The Workshop will come to an end on 25 March 2022.