Kudumbashree trained the officials of Arunachal Pradesh, for the successful completion of National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) programme. A two day capacity building training was given to the officials regarding the same. The NULM project is being implemented by the Union government across the country since 2013 with the aim of alleviating urban poverty. Kudumbashree is the nodal agency of NULM in Kerala.

NULM programme would be implemented across the urban areas in the country. However in the north eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, the programme is in its initial stage. Kerala was asked by the union government to help the other states in extending the NULM programme. The training was inaugurated by Shri. Taba Tadir, Chief Engineer cum Director Urban Development and Housing, Arunachal Pradesh on 11 January 2018. The senior officials from the District Urban Development Authority, engineers, community organisers, senior officials from the urban affairs directorate of Arunachal Pradesh also attended the training programme. The training was given by the three membered team led by Shri. Binu Francis, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree.

A team from Arunachal Pradesh will soon visit Kerala to study the NULM activities being successfully implemented by Kudumbashree. Arunachal had a population of 13 lakh, of which 23% live in urban areas. Itanagar and Pasighat are the two municipalities in Arunachal Pradesh. Kudumbashree envisages to extend the poverty alleviation activities in Arunachal Pradesh through the training.

A 14-member delegation from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir visited Kerala to study Kudumbashree Mission. The team will study in detail about the successful implementation of the various projects of Kudumbashree in convergence with panchayaths, and Kudumbashree women’s micro enterprises. Led by Shri. Sering Paldan, Development Assistant Commissioner, the team from Ladakh comprises of Panchayath secretaries and one Block and Development Officer.

Classes on the topics such as Kudumbashree programmes, organisational structure, successful micro enterprises, group farming, social development, micro finance, skill training etc. were given to the Ladakh team. The team also visited the Thiruvananthapuram centre of Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), to study about the decentralised governance implemented in Kerala.

Representatives from various states and countries had been visiting Kudumbashree to study about Kudumbashree model of poverty alleviation. The 10 membered delegation include ministers and other senior officials from various departments of Tajikistan had visited Kudumbashree Mission during December 2017.

Snehatheeram Homestay of Kudumbashree women from Alappuzha made their mark by the outstanding performance in tourism sector in the district. The homestay is located near Perupalli Kochi Jetty at Arattupuzha. What makes them different from others is not only the 'All women management', but also the eco-friendly approach of them. The homestay started functioning on 5 June 2014, the environment day. The construction of the homestay is purely in an eco friendly way.

Foreigners are the main visitors of Snehatheeram homestay. Snehatheeram homestay serves ethnic food and uses only organic vegetables for cooking. Fish farm is also run by the Snehatheeram Kudumbashree unit. The ethnic food served by them is of high demand for the guests. The four day package of homestay include village walk, self boat riding, folk art-dance programmes, meeting with Ayurveda vaidyas, coir making, Mannarasala centre, visits to museum, Krishnapuram palace, village- community tourism, sunbath etc. Cigeratte, liquor and plastic are strictly banned inside the homestay. The Kudumbashree women themselves act as the local guides to the guests, overcoming the language barriers. Smt. Komalamma, Smt. Veena Devi, Smt. Ishi, Smt. Sunitha, Smt. Suraja, Smt. Chithra and Smt. Seema are the women who are in charge of Snehatheeram Homestay.

The initiative was started as part of the tsunami relief activities and later the initiative was took up by the Kudumbashree Snehatheeram unit. A herbal garden is also maintained by them. The social responsibility of the unit is too notable that 20 % of the yearly profit of Snehatheeram Homestay is used for cleaning activities. The story of Snehatheeram homestay is nothing but the saga of the will power of a few women.

A total of 271 units started functioning across the state as part of of the Kerala Chicken Programme being implemented by Kudumbashree Mission in Kerala associating with State Animal Husbandry Department and Poultry Development Corporation (KEPCO). The first units were started in Thiruvananthapuram district on 22 December 2017. Ernakulam is the district with maximum number of units. i.e., 70 units. 42 units are there in Kazargode district. Kudumbashree Mission plans to start 5000 such chicken rearing units across the state.

Each unit is rearing at least 1000 chicken. They will be ready for sale on becoming 42-45 days old. KEPCO is distributing chicks in Thiruvananthapuram , Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts only. They were distributed in these districts at a rate of Rs 40 per chick. The mature chicken will be procured by KEPCO at a rate of Rs 85 per chicken.

In future, Animal Husbandry department will take actions to certify that the chicken is free from antibiotic or so. Kudumbashree mission also plans to start meat stalls in all districts except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta, which will be under the supervision of concerned CDS.

The main objectives of the programme include to provide a steady income for Kudumbashree members through broiler chicken production, to ensure safe and clean chicken meat to consumers at reasonable price and to provide a steady and non fluctuating market price for broiler chicken.

Kudumbashree Mission is getting strong among the tribal population in Kerala. Out of the 127987 tribal families in Kerala, 106162 families are active members of Kudumbashree NHGs. It was found out from the tribal survey that 5962 NHGs are actively participating in the tribal areas. It was in 2007, that Kudumbashree tribal special livelihood project was launched associating with Scheduled Tribes Development Department to address the issues faced by the tribal population in Kerala. The tribal population of Kerala is 454302 and there exists a total of 5484 tribal clans in the state.

Wayanad is the district with maximum number of tribal NHGs. There are 1612 tribal NHGs and 27135 Kudumbashree members in Wayanad. In Kazargode, there are 718 tribal NHGs and 15850 members. In Idukki, there are 715 NHGs and 13687 members. Alappuzha is the district with least number of tribal NHGs. there are only 3 tribal NHGs and 42 members.

Kudumbashree plans to strengthen the livelihood activities in tribal areas in the upcoming years. More micro enterprises like handicrafts, handloom, tailoring units etc will be started focusing tribal NHGs in various districts.

It is with the convergence with governmental and non governmental organisations that special tribal project was carried out by Kudumbashree. In the first phase, the programme was implemented in the selected 10 panchayaths of Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasargod districts. The second phase was conducted in the selected 10 panchayaths of the remaining districts except Alappuzha. And in the third phase, it was extended to all panchayaths where tribals reside.

The Attappady special project is being carried out by Kudumbashree in Attappady from 2013 onwards for making progressive changes among the lives of tribals. Projects giving special emphasis to the areas like Edamalakkudy are the major ones among the tribal focused programmes. Tribal outlets were started for giving maximum exposure to the products of tribals in Idukki, the second largest district in the basis of tribal population. Group farming, PSC coaching etc are also progressing as part of he tribal special livelihood projects.

Hostels run by Kudumbashree CDS are of high demand in Kozhikode city. Located at Francis road, near fourth platform of Kozhikode Railway station, the recently started 'Rail view' women's hostel which have 33 rooms, including single, double and triple rooms providing the state of the art facilities like free WiFi, CCTV, recreation club, library and reading room, laundry, conference hall, counselling centre etc. Rail view hostel was inaugurated by Shri. T.P Ramakrishnan, Minister for Labour and Excise, Government of Kerala on 30 November 2017.

The all-women management which provide online booking facility, has also made arrangements to accommodate women working on late night shifts. The counselling centre at the hostel which provide free counselling for women and children and the 'Railway tasty corner' food court which serve tasty food are also accessible to the public as well. Rail view is the fourth hostel started by Kudumbashree CDS. Smt. P.P Sheeja and Smt. V. Pushpalatha, Smt Savithri, officer bearers of Kozhikode Corporation Kudumbashree CDS North are in charge if the the 'Railview' Hostel.

The first in the series, 'Feminara' Womens Hostel was started at Gujarathi street in 2014, which was an instant hit. Following its success, 'Fly Sky' Hostel and 'She Homes' Hostel were started at Govindapuram and Parayancheri respectively.

The demand for women's hostels rise during entrance examinations and other tests. Kudumbashree hostels can accommodate around 300 people altogether in its four hostels. The hostels provide all the modern facilities for a comfortable stay in affordable price, had became a second home for its inhabitants.

To address the space shortage for funeral faced by landless people, Kudumbashree Unit from ward 1 of Idavetti Panchayath, Idukki launched the first of its kind initiative, Mobile Crematorium. The mobile crematorium was inaugurated on 22 December 2017, was launced under the leadership of Pratheeksha Yuvashree.The initiative aims to help the people to meet the funeral activities at low of cost.

Destitutes, Kudumbashree members and those families who deserve special care and attention may receive special considerations for availing the mobile crematorium services.

A Bank loan of Rs 5.5 lakh and innovation fund of Rs.3.5 lakh was availed from Kudumbashree for starting the same.

Shri. T.M Mujeeb, Edavetti Ward member, Shri.P.A Shajimon, Idukki District Mission Co-ordinator, Smt.Rajamma Babu, Kudumbashree Chairperson, Smt Radha Biju, Smt. Sarojini Velayudhan, Smt Rajani Devarajan (ADS office bearers), Smt. Anitha Vinoop, Smt. Tintu Smithesh and Smt. Sandhya Jayesh ( Yuvashree group) are the persons who are in charge of the mobile crematorium.

Kaushal Panjee App or Skill Register App aims to be the first step for any rural youth looking for getting skilled or starting a business through Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY). Through Kaushal Panjee, rural youth can register free of cost and be connected to training partners and banks working in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development.

The interested youth may register in DDU-GKY programme by logging on to www.kaushalpanjee.nic.in or by downloading the Kaushal Panjee from Google Play store. So far, 20,000 persons from Kerala had made their registration in DDU-GKY programme through Kaushal Panjee App. Through this app/ website, one may choose the course which would suit their aptitude. They may also choose under which Project Implementing Agencies (PIA), they may complete their skill training.

Under DDU-GKY, 45 Project Implementing Agencies are offering 103 different trades in 28 different sectors. So far, 27,000 students received job training out of which 15,000 got job placements. Kudumbashree is the Nodal Agency of DDU-GKY in Kerala. It was planned to give skill training to 51,200 students during 2016-19. Rs 393 crore was sanctioned for meeting the same. Considering the the best performance of Kudumbashree, an additional amount of Rs 198 Crore was sanctioned to give skill training to 20,000 rural youth during 2017-19. Kudumbashree had bagged the National Award for the Best Nodal Agency (2016-17) for the implementation of DDU-GKY programme. Mobilizing the right candidate through Kudumbashree community network resulted in successful implementation of DDU-GKY in the state.

The different trades offered include Pharmacy Assistant, Accountancy with Tally, Food and beverage services, General duty Assistant, Domestic Electrician, plumber, Departmental Manager, Customer Care Executive, Retail / Sales Executive, Banking Sales Representative, Housekeeping Assistant, Front Office cum Receptionist, Animation, Induction Sewing Machine Operator, Travel and tourism Executive, Dental Ceramic Technician / Assistant, Basic Automotive Services, Maintenance Mechanic,Hospitality Assistant, BPO- Voice & Non Voice, Information & Communication Technology, Domestic Data Entry Operator, Continental Cook, Fashion Design Technology & CN Machine Operator. An average monthly salary of Rs 7000 is ensured for the beneficiaries. It is also planned to start giving training on Aerospace- Aviation, Architecture- Civil 2D drafting with Autocad, Artifical intelligence training etc. Special Modules for English, Computer and soft Skills are also included in the programme.

The formation of Vigilant groups, which envisages to defend the crimes and atrocities against women are progressing in all districts. Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kazargode districts had already completed vigilant group formation. 909 & 1321 Vigilant groups were formed in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam respectively. 1753 were formed in Thrissur, 1502 in Kozhikode and 777 vigilant groups were formed in Kazargode district. Its planned to finish the formation in the rest of the districts by next month itself.15,000 ward level vigilant groups have been formed so far.

The aim of the initiative is not only to create safe neighborhoods but also to ensure the freedom of movement of women across the state and protect their rights, thereby creating better domestic and social conditions for them.The ward level vigilant groups will consist of five to ten resident members who would act as the team that would take measures against the atrocities against women. They will help identify victims and also provide them with legal and other assistance.

Monthly awareness programmes will be conducted under the leadership of community councilors. If needed, service of Gender Help Desk will also be provided. Vigilant groups will consist of ADS, CDS members, committee of Anganwadi mothers, Balasabha volunteers, elected members, NGOs, social activists and representatives from cultural arena etc. The support of women at a local level will be significant and it could play a critical role in helping the wheels of justice to turn faster and more efficiently.

India Food Court set up by Kudumbashree NRO at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, Ernakulam as part of Mathrubhumi Festival attracts the food lovers of Kochi. The twelve day long festival being held at an area of 60,000 sqft was inaugurated by Shri. K. Mohammed Y Safirulla, District Collector, Ernakulam on 21 December 2017. He emphasized the importance of such food festivals in sharing and exchanging the cultural heritage. He also added that, it is the right platform for the entrepreneurs to sell their products as well as culinary skills.

Shri. Vinay Fort, Popular Malayalam cine actor who was present at the event, felicitated the women entrepreneurs from different states participating in the event. The India Food Court offers various ethnic specialties from around 13 states across the country. More than 55 women from states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Sikkim, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Tripura have participated in the food festival offering local delicacies like litti chokha, raab, momos, pani puri, dal bati churma, goan fish curry etc. Lakshadweep, the tiny island located in the southern most part of the country, is set to offer rich seafood cuisine, whereas Goa expects to treat the locals with a blend of seafood and vegetarian dishes. Apart from this, variety of dishes from different districts of Kerala, including Attappady is also in the offering for providing people with unique gastronomic experience. The dining and shopping bonanza is adding more color to the festive days. The event will come to an end on 2 January 2018.