The BUDS School Students of Thirunelly of Wayanad District of Kerala came up with a thought provoking gesture on Environment Day.  The 'buds' of Paradise Special School of Thirunelly have celebrated the first birthday of the five trees they planted during the Environment Day of 2022. They have proved that not only planting a sapling on Environment Day but also taking proper care of it and growing it into a tree and enjoying the shade of that tree is a different experience.

The celebration was marked by cutting a cake with the words 'First Birthday of the Shade Tree'. Shri. P. V Balakrishnan Balakrishnan President, Thirunelly Panchayath cut the cake and distributed it to the BUDS students. 38 students are studying in this school. 75 percent of these children are from Scheduled Tribes Community. The school has two teachers and assistants each. Agri Therapy Scheme is also being implemented in the school in a good way. This year alone, the smart people here have harvested 180 kg of tomatoes, 78 kg of eggplant, one and a half loads of spinach, 46 kg of green chillies, along with cauliflower and cabbage. Tapioca, banana, pumpkin and ash gourd have also been cultivated.

Kudumbashree Kasaragod District Mission has come up with an innovative scheme to fully support the farmers of Kasaragod district. The district is implementing 'One House One Agriculture Tool' scheme in association with the Kasaragod District Panchayath. This project is being implemented with the aim of promoting and spreading agriculture in the district. The objectives of the project are to provide necessary agricultural equipments to the farmers and to provide technical support for the same and to promote scientific farming methods. Strengthening of Farmer Facilitation Center or FFC under CDS is also a target.

So far, four tractors have been made available through the project. Tractors were given to Kudumbashree Pavizham Farming Group (Joint Liability Group) of Muliyar Panchayath, Cheruvathoor Panchayath CDS and Team Bedakam Agro Producer Company. These activities are part of the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) project. Kudumbashree carries out activities including locating beneficiaries, helping them with online registration and support in obtaining subsidy and extending them support. District Panchayath provides subsidy to consumers who are not getting subsidy through this scheme. So far Rs 40 lakhs have been made available in this way.

Harvesting machine, seedling planting machine, medicine spraying drone etc. will also be made available. Training will also be provided to understand the technology of these machines. As part of this, drone training will be given to ten women members of Kudumbashree by the end of August.

The 'Kalavara Nirakkal' (pantry filling) programme in connection with Arangu 2023 added more colour to the Festival. The 'Kalavara Nirakkal' programme intended to prepare food for more than 3,000 NHG members who flocked to the festival premises. 1000 kg of rice, 2500 kg of vegetables, 900 kg of spices, 25,000 coconuts and 5,000 packets of papads were brought to the pantry from various CDSs in the district.

The collected food items including fruits, vegetables and grains were handed over to the food committee under the leadership of Shri. K. R Ravi, Chairman, Pantry Committee and President, Ollukkara Block Panchayath. Dr Kavitha, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission received these resources on behalf of the Food Committee.

A National Seminar was organized on 'Development of Creativity and Women Empowerment'  in connection with Arangu 2023 Kudumbashree State Arts Festival at Hotel Dass Continental, Thrissur on 30 May 2023. Shri. M.K. Varghese, Mayor, Thrissur Corporation officially inaugurated the seminar. Ms. Latha Chandran, Vice President, District Panchayath, presided over the function. 

Dr. Monisha U, District Programme Manager, Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission delivered the introductory lecture of the seminar. Dr M.A Sudheer, (Professor, Tamil Nadu Gandhigram Rural University) delivered the keynote address. Ms Deepa Nishanth, Dr. Rachitha Ravi, Dr. Sajitha Mathil presented papers in the Plenary Session chaired by Dr. M.A Sudheer. Following that Ms. Sudha K.P, Ms. Bindu, Ms. Shobana Thankappan, Ms. Jasmi Shameer and Ms. Aishabi, NHG members from various taluks of Thrissur shared their experiences of participating in 'Arangu' in the past. Dr. K.S Vasudevan summarized these experiences and spoke.

Dr. B. Sreejith presided over the next session. Dr Chinchu, Ms. Ashwini Ashok, Ms. Ramadevi M.V, Dr. Usha Devi, Ms. Reshmi Shemir, Ms. Divya, Ms. Savithri. V.L, Ms Bushara, Mr. Babu, Mr. Sam John, Ms. Sneha and Mr. Deepak Kumar presented the papers. Discussions were also held on this. Research students and social workers also became part of the discussion.

Dr. Kavitha A, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission Coordinator welcomed the gathering.  Dr. B. Sreejith gave the keynote presentation. Ms. Sindhu V, State Programme Manager, Kudumbashree, Ms. Shobana Thankappan and Ms. Lalitha extended their greetings. Shri. Nirmal M.C, Assistant District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission delivered the vote of thanks. At the closing ceremony, Dr. Kavitha presided over the function. Ms. Ramadevi and Ms. Ashwini Ashok were given awards for best theses. Ms. Sabira, Counsellor, Snehitha Dear delivered the vote of thanks.

The National Millet Conclave 2023 was held at Attappady, Palakkad from 26-28 May 2023. Shri. K. Krishnankutty, Minister for Electricity, Government of Kerala inaugurated the programme at Agali Attappady Camp Centre, Attappady, Palakkad on 26 May 2023. The three-day National Millet Conclave was organized under the leadership of Kudumbashree. 

The Minister said that better income generation should be ensured for the farmers who cultivate food grains including millets. He also said that necessary discussions should be held so that the farmers can get better market value for the products they produce. He added that there should be collective efforts to provide a better means of livelihood to the farmers, including those of Attappady, who are cultivating nutritious millets during the prevalence of lifestyle diseases. The Minister also presented Kudumbashree's gift to Ms. Nanchiyamma, recipient of the National Film Award for the Best Playback Singer and Kudumbashree NHG member.

Shri. N Shamsudheen, MLA, Mannarkkad Constituency presided over the inaugural function. He said in the presidential speech that Kudumbashree women have grown to take up everything from canteen catering enterprises to road construction contracts. He also said that the Millet Conclave organized by Kudumbashree to promote production and marketing of millets and provide livelihood will be the most significant step taken by Kudumbashree in this field.

Ms. K Binumol, President, District Panchayath, Palakkad released the book on the 'Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Attappady-Restoring Traditional Farming Systems, Protecting Agro Ecosystems and Regaining Health, Food and Nutritional Security' (Process Documentation and participatory evaluation of the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) Activities in Attappady (2014-2022), prepared by S. Santhi by giving the same to Shri. Raman Wadhwa, Deputy Director, National Rural Livelihoods Mission. 

Around 2,000 people including representatives of various states, subject experts, people's representatives, farmers, Attappady Kudumbashree Joint Liability Groups, entrepreneurs and youth participated in the conclave. It was for the first time in the state that a Millet Conclave was organized in the Scheduled Tribes region. 

Currently, Attappady is the largest millet producing region in Kerala. A number of nutritious small grains such as ragi (finger millet), Chama (little millet), Varag (kodo millet), Kamp (pearl millet), maize and Thina (foxtail millet) etc are being produced in Attappady. The Millet Conclave was organized to bring attention to these millets and the value added products prepared from them, apart from Kerala, at the national level. Kudumbashree has decided to give special consideration to the activities required to increase the consumption of millets that are helpful for health in a situation where lifestyle diseases are prevalent. The cooperation of the Department of Agriculture was also ensured for this. Efforts are made to increase production by increasing consumption. In this way the farmers can also ensure an increase in income. It will also help in local economic development.

Ms. Maruthi Murugan, President, Block Panchayath, Attappady & Member, State Kudumbashree Governing Body welcomed the gathering. Shri. P Ramamurthy, President, Sholayur Grama Panchayath,  Ms. Jyothi Anil Kumar, President, Puthur Grama Panchayath, Shri. K K Mathew, Vice President, Attappady Block Panchayat,  Ms. Mini G Kurup, Member, Agali Grama Panchayath and Shri. K K Chandradas, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Palakkad District Mission gave away their felicitations. Shri. Jayaram Killi, National Mission Manager, Farm Livelihood and Shri. Tony Jose, National Mission Manager-Livelihood was also present at the function. Shri. B.S Manoj, Programme Officer, Tribal & Assistant Project Officer, Attappady Special Project, Kudumbashree delivered the vote of thanks. The Dance Performance based on Kudumbashree's Mudra Geetham was staged prior to the inaugural function. 

The National Millet Conclave was rich in presentations and seminars on topics ranging from production to marketing of small grains. The first was a presentation by Dr. Nirmala Kumari, former head of the Department of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, on emerging technology in the field of small grains production.

On the first day, 26 May 2023,  presentations were made on 'Various Scientific Ways to Increase Production of Small Grains' (Jacob Nellithanam, Chief Executive Officer, Farmers' Rights), 'Community Managed Seed Systems in Millets' (Bhagyalakshmi, Associate Director, Vazan), 'Livelihood Interventions of Kudumbashree and Attappady Special Project' (Sarada Muraleedharan, Additional Chief Secretary IAS, Local Self-Government Department) and 'Multi Cultivation in India's Tribal Areas-Lessons from Attappady' (SM Vijayanand, Former Chief Secretary).  Also a seminar was held on the Emerging Trends in Millet Eco System in which Mr. Raman Wadhwa, Deputy Director, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Ms. Shyama Jha, Founder, Millet Magic, Ms. Lata Sharma, Assistant Director,  Attappady Millet Village  participated and the same was followed by artistic performances.

On the second day,  Dr. S. Shanti, Freelance Ecologist and Environmental Educator led the presentations on 'Attappady The Land of Millets- Restoring Traditional Millets In Attappady'. Ms. Kaliyamma, Community Resource Person from Plamaram hamlet, Ms. Rajamma, Paraprofessional from Sambarkode hamlet, Ms. Usha, ParaProfessional Usha from Puthur hamlet also made presentations on the same topics.

Ms. Sharmila Oswal, Chief Executive Officer, Basilia Organics, Ms. Nikhila, Representative, VRUITTI and Mr. Ravindra Grover, Regional Coordinator, Harvest Plus Asia spoke at the seminar on 'Millets and Marketing Opportunities'. Mr. Tony Jose, National Mission Manager, NRLM, Mr. Jayaram Killy, National Mission Manager, NRLM, Mr. Rajas Shubro, GIZ Advisor  and Mr. Avinash Alok, GIZ Representative spoke in the seminar on 'Livelihood through Millets'.

Conclave delegates also experienced Attapady's 'Kambalam', which won the hearts of everyone, those who came from different states and different districts of Kerala by providing a new experience. Kambalam was organized on 27 May 2023 at Kalakkara hamlet of Sholayur Panchayath to introduce the traditional agricultural culture followed by the tribal community to the delegates who came to participate in the National Millet Conclave being conducted under the auspices of Kudumbashree at Agali Camp Centre in Attappady.

The conclave representatives went to the field along with the residents of the hamlet to celebrate the ceremony. The seeds of small grains like Ragi (finger millet), Chama (little millet), Thina (foxtail millet), Varag (kodo millet), Amara (Hyacinth Bean), Tuvara (Pigeon Pea) were mixed and sown on the plowed soil. Then they joined the residents of hamlet with unique dance moves. After spending about one and a half hours in the field,  and having traditional food everyone returned.

The National Millet Conclave was successfully concluded on 28 May 2023. It coincided with the International Year of Millets. Ms. Anu Kumari IAS,  Executive Director, Kudumbashree  inaugurated the closing session and Youth Gathering organized in connection with the National Millet Conclave. Dr. Joy Elamon, Director, KILA presided over the function.

 The Executive Director distributed the awards to those who passed the Beat Forest Officer examination in the PSC examination from the tribal community of Attappady, the animators who achieved excellent results, the Yuvashree Anakkal, Anashwara Abbannoor and Millennium Anavai teams who won first, second and third positions respectively in the Tribal Football League, the best players, and the Panchayat Committees which conducted the Football Mela in an excellent manner. Ms. Anu Kumari IAS, Executive Director also released a  book on Attapady's variety of flavors by giving the same to the Paraprofessionals of Attappady.

Dr. Shanti, Environment Activist and Teacher, Shri. Latheef, State Secretary, Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, who provided the venue for the conclave and those who set up the best stalls in the exhibition and marketing stalls attached to the conclave were felicitated with awards. Shri. B. S Manoj, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree and Assistant Project Officer, Attappady Special Tribal Project welcomed the gathering and Shri. Prabhakaran, State Programme Manager, Kudumbashree delivered the vote of thanks. 

The Guruvayoor Municipality has set an example by integrating well with Kudumbashree in Guruvayoor, one of the major pilgrimage centres in Kerala. Guruvayoor Urban Livelihood Centre makes great intervention by providing 103 Kudumbashree members with livelihood opportunity. Under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) implemented by Kudumbashree in Kerala, a Tourist Facilitation Centre has been started and a total of 103 Kudumbashree women have been provided with livelihood opportunities. Urban Livelihood Centres aim to create more employment opportunities in urban areas and help the urban poor earn a livelihood.

Based on the excellent performance of the Kudumbashree Urban Livelihood Centre, which is operating at Amenity Centre on the west side of the Guruvayoor Temple from November 2022, the Municipal Council has entrusted Kudumbashree with the management of the Tourist Facilitation Centre set on three floors with state-of-the-art systems. 50 Kudumbashree members have been provided employment through this Facilitation Centre in various fields such as Manager, Assistant Manager, Accountant, Receptionist, Housekeeping Staff and Food Court Staff. This Facilitation Centre has Kudumbashree's First Air Conditioned Premium Food Court in Kerala where 80 people can sit and eat at the same time, air conditioned hall where 200 people can hold trainings and meetings at the same time, mini conference hall, reading room and internet cafe etc with 24 hour service. A special package is also available for bulk bookings.

32 Kudumbashree women have already been provided direct employment in the areas of Manager, Accountant and Housekeeping Unit at the Urban Livelihood Centre and 21 women have already been provided employment through the Municipality's Multilevel Car Parking Complex taken over by the Urban Livelihood Centre and services in the areas of housekeeping and security in the Apartment Complex under Krishna Gardens Flat Owners Association.

The Tourist Facilitation Centre was inaugurated by Shri. N.K Akbar, MLA, Guruvayoor Constituency during a function organized on 24 May 2023. Shri. M. Krishnadas, Chairman, Guruvayoor Municipality presided over the function. Shri. Jahamgeer. S, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree conveyed his greetings and expressed his gratitude to Municipality for the excellent treatment given to Kudumbashree.

Kerala Chicken Poultry Processing Plant has been launched to boost Kudumbashree Kerala Chicken Project activities in the state. Shri. V. Sasi, MLA, Chirayinkeezhu Constituency inaugurated the plant which is located at Kadinamkulam of Thiruvananthapuram district. The plant is situated on four and a half acres in Channankara.

Kudumbashree is implementing the project in collaboration with the Department of Animal Welfare and KEPCO with the objectives of finding a solution to the high price of chicken meat, providing clean chicken meat to the consumers, ensuring regular income for the chicken farmers who are members of Kudumbashree, producing and distributing 50 percent of the broiler chicken market in the state itself. The activities are coordinated by the Kudumbashree Broiler Farmers Producer Company Limited.

The plant has the capacity to process 500 chickens per hour. After conducting ante-mortem inspection of the one and a half month old broiler chickens delivered here, only fully healthy chickens will be used for processing. Processing and further operations are carried out scientifically with the help of various machines in semi-automated poultry processing line with the help of overhead rail system. There is also an extensive cold storage facility for keeping poultry meat chilled.

The quality assured products will be marketed under the brand name 'Kudumbashree Kerala Chicken' through supermarkets in the first phase. Various value added products of poultry will be produced and a 'Meat On Wheels' mobile sales outlet will be started to make them available to the customers.

At present, chicken is supplied to all the 111 outlets operating in the state from farmers working under the Kerala Chicken Scheme. When the processing plant starts functioning, all the chickens required here will be procured from the same farmers.

Shri. Hari Prasad, President, Pothencode Block Panchayath  presided over the function. Dr. Sajeev Kumar. A, CEO, Kerala Chicken Broiler Farmers Producer Company Limited &  Programme Officer, Kudumbashree explained the project. Shri. N. Sasidharan Nair, Private Secretary to the Minister of Local Self-Government and Excise Department, Ms. Ajitha Ani, President, Kadinamkulam Grama Panchayath, Ms. Unaisa Ansari, Member Kaniyapuram Division District Panchayath, Ms. Sreekala. S, Chief Environmental Engineer, Dr. Beena Beevi, District Animal Husbandry Officer and Ms. Ruby Naushad, CDS Chairperson extended their greetings. Dr. B. Najeeb, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Thiruvananthapuram District Mission welcomed the gathering and Ms. Sachithra Babu, Director, KBFPCL, delivered the vote of thanks.

Radioshree, the online radio launched by Kudumbashree will become a unified platform for the activities of 46 lakh Kudumbashree members of Kerala. Educational, health and entertainment programmes and various discussions can now be heard through 'Radio Shree'. The mobile application 'Radioshree' can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. An eight-hour programme will be aired a day. And then the repetition of that programme will be broadcasted.  This is how 'Radio Shree' is currently working.

To download the Radioshree App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details.

Formed on 17 May 1998, Kudumbashree has crossed the age of twenty-six. Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala inaugurated the valedictory function of the closing ceremony of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Kudumbashree on 17 May 2023, which has been ongoing for the last one year. He also announced 'May 17 as Kudumbashree Day'.

Kudumbashree acted as the backbone in leading the women of Kerala to self-sufficiency. Kudumbashree's work has been carried out since its inception with an emphasis on achieving rights through social cohesion. The Chief Minister said that Kudumbashree has been able to provide excellent support to Kerala in becoming the state with the least poverty in the country and that the full participation of Kudumbashree will be utilized in the efforts to free the 64,006 families identified through the extreme poverty survey from poverty by 1 November 2025.

Shri. M.B Rajesh, Minister of Local Self-Government and Excise Department, Government of Kerala presided over the function. The Chief Minister also inaugurated RadioSree, Kudumbashree's digital radio. The Chief Minister distributed the award for the Best Kudumbashree CDS to Alappuzha Kanjikuzhi CDS and also to Kozhikode Corporation for performing well in the 'Oppam-Koode Und Karuthalode' campaign conducted in the urban areas. 

In his presidential speech, the Minister of Local Self-Government and Excise Department, Government of Kerala said that Kudumbashree's contribution to the history of women's life in modern Kerala is great. Kudumbashree should go ahead with activities aimed at increasing income. This will increase the per capita income of the state in the coming years. The minister also stated that the signature of the half-crore members of Kudumbashree, the great movement of women's power, is evident in all areas.

The Minister released Kudumbashree Mudrageetham and also distributed the Awards for  Ms. Sreekala Devayanam who wrote the Mudrageetham and Shri. Nithin who prepared the tagline for Kudumbashree. Also, the award for the Second Best CDS was given to the representatives of Wayanad Vellamunda CDS and Thiruvananthapuram Kottukal CDS and the Award for the Third Best CDS was given to the representatives of Palakkad Sreekrishnapuram CDS and Idukki Marayoor CDS. The Minister also felicitated the CDSs who won Special Jury Awards in various categories. The Minister and the Chief Guests distributed awards to the local bodies in the urban areas who had implemented the campaign effectively.

Shri. V.D Satheesan, Leader of Opposition said that Kudumbashree's history of a quarter of a century is a history of change and the role played by Kudumbashree is crucial in realizing women's empowerment. He also launched the updated logo of Kudumbashree.

'Nilav Pookkunna Vazhikal' the book prepared by including the poems received in Kudumbashree Mudrageetham Competition was released by Ms. Subhashini Ali, Former MP by giving the same to Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph IAS,  Principal Secretary, Local Self-Government Department, Government of Kerala. The Postal Cover issued by the Postal Department on the occasion of the Kudumbashree Silver Jubilee was released by Shri. Alexin George, Director, Postal Department by handing over the same to Shri. M. B Rajesh, Minister, Local Self Government Department and Excise Department, Government of Kerala. Ms. J Chinchurani, Minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Government of Kerala conveyed her greetings online.

Dr. R. Bindu, Minister for Higher Education and Social Justice, Government of Kerala, Ms .P.K. Sreemathi Teacher, Former MP, Ms. Sarada Muraleedharan IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Local Self-Government Department, Government of Kerala, Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Kerala, Adv. Smitha Sundareshan, Governing Body Member, Kudumbashree, Ms. Simi Jyothish, Counsellor, Chala, Ms. Shyna A, CDS Chairperson were the Chief Guests of the function. 

Ms. Vasanthi K, Senior member of Kudumbashree family welcomed the gathering and Ms. Kadambari Vinod, a member of the Krishna Balasabha, Maruthongal CDS, Kozhikode delivered the vote of thanks. The dance performed by Rangashree, Kudumbashree Community Theatre captivated the attention of the masses with its innovation, theme and choreography. 

Kudumbashree had set a model by strictly adhering to Green Protocol during the three-day celebrations in connection with the closing celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of Kudumbashree.  For three days, tens thousands flocked to Putharikandam Maidan, Thiruvananthapuram, but everywhere was super clean and green. Kudumbashree's Silver Jubilee Celebrations, which is at the helm of environment-friendly activities in the state was started on 15 May 2023.  More than ten thousand people participated in the event.

The main venue, the food court and the surrounding areas where the event was held were plastic-free. All the venues were cleaned at regular intervals and converted into zero waste spaces. Food and drinks were distributed in the food court using crystal glasses and utensils. Through the collective action of trained Kudumbashree members, food waste was also eliminated from time to time. The organizers were able to completely clean the inside and outside of the venue where the celebrations  took place. As usual, Kudumbashree followed proper waste disposal plans and thereby strictly adhered to Green Protocol.