The innovative initiative put forward by Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission is standing out unique in the way it touched the lives of many families in Kerala. Claimed to be the first of its kind in the state, the Kudumbashree Matrimony initiative had been launched by the Kudumbashree unit at Porkkulam, near Kunnamkulam in Thrissur district. Kudumbashree Matrimony started functioning when Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister for Industries, Sports and Youth Affairs inaugurated the initiative in 25 July 2016.

Smt. Sindhu Balan is the woman behind this innovative initiative. She put forward the idea of Kudumbashree Matrimony during the Plan Review Meeting held at Thrissur District Mission office. It is possible to get an accurate picture of the potential brides and grooms through the Kudumbashree networks very easily. No other organisation have such a network like that Kudumbashree holds and therefore it would be easily possible to get a correct profile of the potential candidates seeking alliance without any difficulty. And therefore the issues caused by the marriage fraudsters could be avoided. According to Sindhu, only Kudumbashree Mission could something against the marriage frauds, by making use of the vast network that Kudumbashree possess all over the state.

Kudumbashree matrimony unit would be charging much lower amount than the other commercial establishments in the field. The fees fixed currently are Rs 750 for the youngsters from the families of the Kudumbashree members and Rs 1000 for those from the potential brides and grooms from other families. After the marriage only Rs 10,000 is collected from their family.

Sindhu started the initiative by availing a loan of Rs 3 lakh. Four staff are employed at the office of Kudumbashree Matrimony located at Mandakathingal Building, Near Porkulam Grampanchayath, Kunnamkulam. The best matches for the bride and groom are founded through software. Those have internet access may login through the website and get the details of the matching profiles and for the others, the matching profiles are sent through post. The details of the bride and groom would be posted in the website only after cross checking it with the concerned CDSs.

So far, Kudumbashree Matrimony had successfully made happen more than 60 marriages. Kudumbashree Matrimony is making an average of Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 every month. The nominal rate and good quality are the hallmark of Kudumbashree Matrimony that more people are enquiring about the service even from distant places.

The RO plant opened at Kozhikode Old Corporation office premises stand out unique because of the interventions it had made into the life of common man of Kozhikode. The RO plant is producing and distributing drinking water to almost all the households and shops in Kozhikode city limits.

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. And the first drinking water plant was constructed at the old corporation office premises. A five member team of Kudumbashree women was entrusted to supply the drinking water cans to 150 houses and residential apartments. A trail run was held for a week so that the members could make required changes when the operation turned into full swing. As the programme was found successful, the programme was officially launched on 5 June 2017, the Environment day. The bottled drinking water was named as ‘Theertham’.

The Community Development Societies (CDS) of the Kudumbashre project office of the city corporation 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 20 for 20 litres of pure drinking water. The plant is located at the old corporation office and has the capacity to produce 2000 cans of water per day. The CDS had dug up tube well to ensure continuous water for the supply. The treatment plant at old corporation office is using reverse osmosis technology to treat the filtered water. The water will be then purified through ultraviolet treatment. The purified water stored in the stainless steel tanks will be distributed after packaging in bottles and canes. They are supplying an average of about 300 bottles per day.The Bottled drinking water services has got a huge relevance in a city like Kozhikode as it is densely populated and Kozhikode city has evolved into a bigger market over these years.

The five membered team led by Smt. Latha is incharge of the initiative. A vehicle was hired for supplying the bottles to the needy and now they had got 2 vehicles to supply the bottles, as the need for Thirtham drinking water had increased. The group had taken loan and they are repaying an amount of Rs.50,000 per month and are investing their shares of their income for the smooth running of the initiative itself.The initiative was widely appreciated by the people very much that at times, the group even may fail to reach to them. It is planned to buy more vehicles for the smooth delivery.

The office had started receiving request from offices and educational institutions even when it was decided to a conduct trail run for a week by distributing water to houses and apartments. The Thirtham Drinking Water is affordable to everyone that 20 litres of water cost Rs 20 only which means that, it cost Rs 1 per litre. Till January 2018, they had sold around 30,000 bottles of water.

The nominal rate and good quality are the hallmark of Theertham packaged drinking water that more people are enquiring about the availability of the service even from distant places. It is also planned to start such RO plants in other places in the district in the next phase. The demand for purified drinking water can be better converted into an enterprise opportunity and the Mission intends to set 17 plants across the state.

'Theertham’, as the name implies is being the holy water, distributed to the people of Kozhikode in reasonable prices during this time of water scarcity.

Kudumbashree's new initiative Pet Care will be launched at Nedumangad of Thiruvananthapuram district soon. Those residing in the urban areas may make use of the pet care centres by paying a fixed amount.

The first of its kind will be started in Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram. As a pilot project, the pet care centre will start functioning by the second week of March 2018. In the first phase, the pet care centre will take care of dogs and once it would be successful, it would take care of other domestic animals as well. The service of a veterinary doctor will also be ensured.

Five Kudumbashree women had been given training regarding the same. Rs 10 lakh is the expected budget for the project. The pet care centre would be started near the Veterinary clinic  at Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram.

10 cages would be built in the first phase.Food will also be given to them. On the special request of the owner, special food  would be served to them. Two beds are also arranged for treating those who need further treatments.

If the demand for the pet centres increase, more centres will be started.

Kudumbashree Bazaar, Kudumbashree Mission's E- Commerce Portal made its first delivery at Palakkad District. The first online purchase order for Kudumbashree bazaar was received from Palakkad. Smt. Krishnakumari, entrepreneur from Archana Kudumbashree of Parali Panchayath, Palakkad received the order for iron frying pan from Smt. Leelamma of Vadakkancherry. Krishnakumari's iron utensil production unit was started in 2007. The place of delivery being nearby, the product was delivered within 2 hours.

It's for improving the market and reach of the Kudumbashree products among the common people that the e-portal is launched.There are about 15,000 Micro Enterprises in the state. The Kudumbashree women are producing different type of curry powders, flour, masala powders, different types of pickles, jams, squashes, coconut oil, handicrafts, cosmetics, toiletries, readymade garments etc. Out of these the best 200 types which would excel in packing and labelling are available for sale through the e-portal in the first phase. As the demand for the products increases, more products would be made available online for sale.

The details of the products including the photo, name of the unit, phone number which are ready for sale are made available in the website. The customers may visit the website and select the products they wish to buy. When the consumer confirms one item, the concerned Micro Entrepreneurs, District Programme Managers and the State Mission Manager would receive a message. It is the responsibility of the Entrepreneur to send the product through post on receiving the order. Kudumbashree and Postal department had already signed a contract regarding this. Once the Kudumbashree super markets would be started in all districts, the supervision and the responsibility of the online portal would be handed over to them. Through this the Kudumbashree women would be able to make more income of their own. Kudumbashree Mission had indeed made a path breaking gesture by launching 'www.kudumbashreebazaar.com'. From now onwards, through this e-portal, products made by the Kudumbashree women could be bought at ease.

The State level Nutrimix Cookery competition was held at NSS College, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram on 23 February 2018. Unlike the other cookery competitions, the participants of the programme prepared dishes with Amrutam Nutrimix, the protein powder prepared by Kudumbashree women which is given to the children below three years as supplementary food.

Two women each from a district participated which made a total of 28 women participated in the competition. 2 types of dishes were made by each of the candidates. Smt. Shruthi Lajil from Kannur bagged the first prize and Smt Merin Thomas from Idukki came in the second place. Smt.Thara, State Programme Officer, Health Department, Prof. Rejini, Kerala Agriculture University (Rtd) and Smt. Sheeja, HOD, Home Science department, NSS College, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram were the jury who selected the winners.

The candidates made a total of 56 dishes like Nutrimix Cake, Nutrimix Vegetable Momos, Nutrimix Noodles, Amrutham Nutri Cookies, Nutrimix Ada, Nutrimix Bonda etc. The competition not only provided a platform for the women to showcase their cooking skills, but also drived to the nutrition value of Amrutam Nutrimix.

Amrutam Nutrimix, which contains wheat, groundnut, soya bean, gram, and sugar, is given to children below three years of age as supplementary nutrition. The competition was organised by Department of Women and Child Development associating with Kudumbashree Mission. Competitions were also organised at the district levels for promoting Amrutham Nutrimix nutrition powder.

Kudumbashree Mission will give financial assistance worth Rs. 1.83 Crore to the beneficiaries of Kerala Chicken. The amount would be given as Community Investment Fund for the beneficiaries. 

In the first phase, Kudumbashree had identified 438 units all over the state which had basic infrastructure facilities to rear the chicken. Out of these, 183 units would get Rs. 1 Lakh each as loan. An amount of Rs 1.83 Crore would be distributed altogether. The other units would get Community Investment Fund through Community Development Societies (CDS). It is notable that the amount is given at an interest rate of 4% and it needs to be repaid within one year time only.

The programme envisages to serve good quality, poisonous free broiler chicken in Kerala, which would be of help in finding a livelihood for the Kudumbashree women as well. Two entrepreneurs from Thiruvananthapuram had made a record by gaining Rs 48,000 each from Kerala Chicken model of Chicken rearing. Their success story had attracted many other women to this sector.

 It is also planned to launch  Kudumbashree Hatchery units and retail outlets in all districts across Kerala. Converging with the Animal Husbandry Department, by excluding the middle men, the branding of the Kerala chicken would be done, that would be of help to producers and to consumers as well.

DDU-GKY's international placements are creating history again. Three DDUGKY students from Kozhikode who had secured international placements in the middle east is the recent one in the list.  Dr. K.T.Jaleel, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala  presented the trophies and visa to them at a function held at Kanakakunnu Palace as part of the launch of Kudumbashree Bazaar.com  on 21 February 2018.

The students are placed at the Abu Dhabi and Sharjah  outlets of Mac Donalds, the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across approximately 36,900 outlets as of 2016.

Shri. Pranil. C.T.K, Shri. K. Appu and Shri. Vishnu. P are the students who had got the international placements. Three of them had completed the Customer Relationship Executive course. After completing the course from Edujob Consultantancy, Vadakara, Kozhikode they have had attended international placement fest and got selected to the Mac Donalds for their Abu Dhabi and Sharjah outlets.

Shri Appu and Shri. Pranil will join the Sharjah outlet and Shri. Vishnu will join the Abu Dhabi outlet of Mac Donalds.

Kudumbashree Bazaar, the E-commerce portal to sell out the Kudumbashree products was launched by Dr. K.T Jaleel, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala at Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram on 21 February 2018. The credibility of the products produced by the micro entrepreneurs of Kudumbashree Mission is the success of Kudumbashree Bazaar. Minister said.

In the first phase, different products of 250 micro entrepreneurs are ready for sale. Quality products from Kudumbashree need to be timely delivered to the customers all over the world and thereby the acceptance for the Kudumbashree products could be increased. No compromise should be done regarding the quality of the products. The acceptance for Kudumbashree products is achieved by maintaining the quality. If we succeed to gain that acceptance globally, more micro entrepreneurs would be therefore be able to enter into this sector. By launching Kudumbashree super markets, the marketing network would be more strengthened. He added.

Kudumbashree has got a strong system for marketing by launching Kudumbashree E-commerce portal, said Shri. K. Muraleedharan, MLA who presided over the function. By launching the website the marketing of Kudumbashree products had attained a better level and its planned to start warehouses in all districts to store the products for sale in the second phase. Shri. S. Harikishore, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission said.

The contract signed between Indian Postal Service and Kudumbashree Mission regarding the delivery of the Kudumbashree products was exchanged by Shri. S. Harikishore, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission and Shri. M. Mohandas, Senior Superintendent, Thiruvananthapuram Post office North Division Zonal Office. The contract signed regarding the extension of technical support for launching Kudumbashree Community Radio Service was exchanged between Shri. S. Harikishore, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission and Smt. Usha Mangalangy, Assistant General Manager, Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited. Training was given to the micro entrepreneurs regarding the packing of products and website. The training of Postal department was also conducted for the micro entrepreneurs.

Minister felicitated Shri. Hari Shambhu Dev, CEO, Street Bell Pvt Ltd and Smt. Arunima, Manager, Operations, who offered the technical support for Kudumbashreebazaar.com. Minister gave away the trophy and Visa to the DDUGKY students. Shri.Prathin C.T, Shri. K. Appu and Vishnu.P, who got international placement at Mac Donalds, Abu Dhabi through Edu jobs consultancy, Vadakara, Kozhikode.

Shri. Mohandas IPS, Shri Pramod K.V, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree Mission, Smt. Niranjana .N.S, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree Mission and Shri. Ajith Chacko, Chief Operating Officer, NRLM also attended the function.

Kudumbashree Products are now only a finger tip away. Kudumbashree Mission is to make a path breaking gesture by launching 'www.kudumbashreebazaar.com'. From now onwards, through this e-portal, products made by the Kudumbashree women could be bought at ease. It is for improving the market and reach of the Kudumbashree products among the common people that the e-portal is launched.

There are about 15,000 Micro Enterprises in the state. The Kudumbashree women are producing different type of curry powders, flour, masala powders, different types of pickles, jams, squashes, coconut oil, handicrafts, cosmetics, toiletries, readymade garments etc. Out of these the best 200 types which would excel in packing and labelling would be available for sale through the e-portal in the first phase. As the demand for the products increases, more products would be made available online for sale. Through this the Kudumbashree women would be able to make more income of their own.

The details of the products including the photo, name of the unit, phone number which are ready for sale are made available in the website. The customers may visit the website and select the products they wish to buy. When the consumer confirms one item, the concerned Micro Entrepreneurs, District Programme Managers and the State Mission Manager would receive a message. It is the responsibility of the Entrepreneur to send the product through post on receiving the order. Kudumbashree and Postal department had already signed a contract regarding this. Once the Kudumbashree super markets would be started in all districts, the supervision and the responsibility of the online portal would be handed over to them. The technical support for launching the e-portal was facilitated by Start Up Mission.

Ruchi Vandi, the mobile homely food service keep on attracting the food lovers of Wayanad District. The Ruchi Vandi would reach the Kottakkunnu ground at Batheri daily by 4 PM in the evening to serve the home made ethinic foods to the food lovers in the place. The people would have always been eagerly waiting for the Ruch Vandi to have their favourite food items.

Ruchi Vandi was started by Smt. Priya and Smt. Soumya, members of Manichira Deepam Kudumbashree unit under the NULM scheme. They had altered a goods auto into 'Ruchi Vandi'. The Ruch Vandi serves ethinic food items like Kappa-Botti, Pidi- Kozhi, Appam-Beef, Puttu Biriyani, Kothu pathiri etc.Ruchi Vandi also sells snack items like Meenkaay, Kozhi Ada, Chicken Samosa, Pakkavada, Ilayada etc prepared by other Kudumbashree units as well.

The Ruchi Vandi stands out unique and sets a role model to the similar food services in waste management. They dispose them at the waste plant at Shreyas Batheri. The Ruchi Vandi was started investing an amount of Rs. 2 lakhs. Ruchi Vandi is getting an income of Rs 12,000 per day. They are also planning to extend their business by starting a new snack shop. It is also planned to launch an online food delivery system as well. Kudumbashree District Mission is extending their full support to the initiative. The families of these micro entrepreneurs are also involved into the sale and with their sheer confidence in themselves they busy creating history.