Kudumbashree NHG member Shylamma's 'Heaven' Hair Saloon has become the talk of the town. It is common for women to run hair salons and beauty parlors for women. But Shylamma has become a star by providing hairstyles and haircuts for men including trendy styles for the youth.

The 'Heaven' Hair Salon is started in Kainakary Panchayath of Champakulam block in Alappuzha district of Kerala. Shylamma started her enterprise as part of the of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative Entrepreneurship Development Programme. Shylamma who is working as an Anganawadi helper had completed Beautician Course. So when she got to know about the opportunity to start an enterprise through Kudumbashree's RKIEDP scheme, she didn't had to think twice about what it should be. So on 20 March 2022, Shylamma started her salon next to her own house at Cherukayalchira in Kuttamangalam of Kainakary.

Taking YouTube as her guru and adopting the latest hairstyle trends, Shylamma now offers bridal care, nail art, facials and massage treatments etc. through her enterprise.

Nanchiyamma, who bagged the title of the Best Female Playback Singer in the 68th National Film Awards has indeed elevated Kudumbashree to greater heights! Nanchiyamma is the member of Kavinaya NHG and the health volunteer of Nakupathipiriv Ooru Samithi of Attappady. Nanchiyamma won the National Award for the song- 'Kalakatha Sandana Meram' of the film 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum', which is full of tribal rhythms.

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. S.M. Vijayanand IAS (Rtd), 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.

Apply now to get free job skills training in courses such as Software Developer, Medical Records Assistant, Field Engineer, Product Design Engineer etc. The skill training will be extended through the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameena Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Yuvakeralam projects being implemented by Kudumbashree in Kerala.

DDU-GKY is the project jointly being implemented by the Central and State Governments for the youth of poor families in rural areas. Yuvakeralam is the project being implemented by the State Government through Kudumbashree, as part of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative aimed at rebuilding the post-flood Kerala. Urban youth as well as rural youth can become part of this project.

Anyone between 18 and 35 years of age can avail the skill training. Age relaxation upto 45 years is applicable for women, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), transgenders, persons with disabilities, victims of human trafficking and HIV infected persons. Training, study materials and uniform will be provided completely free of cost. Accommodation and food are provided free of cost for the residential courses.

To know the complete details including available courses, course duration, eligibility, training agencies, starting date of courses, name and contact number of course mobilizer and District Programme Managers, visit: www.kudumbashree.org/courses

The Second Phase activities of 'My Job My Pride' Programme will be started from 18 July 2022 through Kudumbashree members. The programme being implemented by the government envisages providing employment to 20 lakh people. The Second Phase activity aims to register those between 21 and 40 years of age on the digital platform (DWMS- Digital Workforce Management System), out of the 53.42 lakh people who registered as job seekers in the first phase survey conducted by Kudumbashree members.

Kudumbashree workers selected at the ward level will register to the digital platform and carry out the profiling activities. Once the profiling is done, the job seekers can know the job opportunities according to their qualifications and apply for the ones they are interested in. Profiling of degree, PG, diploma and polytechnic qualified candidates will be done in the first phase.

Kudumbashree volunteers visited 81,12,268 households and collected data in the first phase of the survey as part of the 'My Job is My Pride' campaign conducted by the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission to identify job seekers. 79,647 Kudumbashree members gave leadership to these activities.

Kudumbashree's Monsoon Webinar Series has been started on 15 July 2022. The Webinar Series was started as part of bringing awareness messages to NHG families about overcoming the challenges faced during monsoons like natural calamities and health problems including infectious diseases. Dr. Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, Member Secretary, State Disaster Management Authority inaugurated the webinar series and delivered a lecture on 'Natural Disasters and Survival'.

As part of the programme, a total of fifteen webinars will be organized once a week, with experts from various fields. The objective of the webinar series is to deliver messages to every Kudumbashree family regarding the precautions to be taken to face natural calamities including landslides, floods, cyclones, sea storms, ways to survive the various consequences associated with natural calamities, protection of home and pets during floods, and ways to prevent and prevent infectious diseases and to prepare themselves to face and survive accidental natural calamities.

Kudumbashree CDS chairpersons, representatives of NHGs, Resource Persons and block coordinators will participate in the webinar. It is aimed to spread the knowledge gained through the webinar to the NHGs through them. Shri. Jahamgeer. S, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree delivered welcome speech and Shri. Sreebal B. S., Web Administrator delivered vote of thanks.

To see the webinar, please visit : https://youtu.be/sKXG3itRnsw

Kudumbashree invites logo for Kudumbashree Initiative for Business Solutions (KIBS) Society. Kudumbashree formed KIBS to provide various job opportunities to Kudumbashree members and thereby increase the labor participation of women. The selected entry will also get a cash prize of Rs. 5000.

The last date for receipt of the entries is 27 July 2022. The entries may be sent to The Public Relations Officer, Kudumbashree State Mission, Trida Rehabilitation Building, Medical College P.O., Thiruvananthapuram- 695011 or may be sent to the mail id- kudumbashreeprcontest@gmail.com. For details visit – www.kudumbashree.org/kibs

Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission launched 'Cocos' branded coconut oil from Aralam Farm of Kannur district of Kerala. A group of Kudumbashree entrepreneurs from the Aralam Scheduled Tribes Rehabilitation Area have now produced and marketed a coconut oil under their own brand. Mr. Binoy Kurian, Vice President, District Panchayath, Kannur launched the 'Cocos' branded coconut oil in a function held at Aralam Kakkuva, Kannur on 6 July 2022.

They launched their 'Cocos' branded coconut oil with the support of their thirst to succeed and the strong mind to reap achievements through hard work. The coconut oil production unit is started in Kakkuva at Block 11 of Aralam Farm, by including in the Annual Plan of Kannur District Panchayath for 2020-21 financial year. Ms. Kalaranjini, Ms. Savitha, Ms. Ramya, Ms. Sandhya and Ms. Sarojini, Kudumbashree members are in charge of the 'Cocos' coconut oil production unit.

Their dream of launching their own brand of coconut oil for the past one year has now come true with the launch of 'Cocos'. 'Cocos' is pure coconut oil with no added preservatives or other additives. In the first phase, 'Cocos' coconut oil will be available in the general market in half-litre and one-litre bottles. The unit is supported by the financial assistance received from the District Panchayath and Kudumbashree along with the bank loan. Kudumbashree also provided training and technical support for branding the product. The building facility was provided by NABARD and Tribal Resettlement and Development Mission (TRDM).

The government has permitted the local bodies to increase the honorarium of the employees of BUDS Schools and BUDS Rehabilitation Centres run jointly by Kudumbashree and local self-government bodies for the differently challenged. A special teacher can be paid up to Rs. 32,560 as salary. Assistant teachers are allowed to pay Rs. 24,520 and nannies up to Rs. 18,390. Physiotherapist and Speech Therapist Specialists with professional degrees can also pay an honorarium of Rs. 1,180 per day.

 As of now, there are 9545 trainees in 342 BUDS Institutions. 404 special teachers, 126 assistant teachers and 397 nannies are serving in these institutions.

Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission has organized Woman Film Fest for Kudumbashree NHG members and Auxiliary Group Members. The Woman Film Fest was officially inaugurated by Ms. K.M. Jamunarani, Municipal Chairperson, Thalassery Municipality at Municipal Town Hall, Thalassery, Kannur on 29 June 2022.

The 'Woman' Film Fest' opens up an opportunity for thousands of NHG members to immerse themselves in the magical world of films that have created wonder in the hearts of people like Children of Heaven, Heidi, Village Rockstar and discover new levels of enjoyment. The Film Fest is organized in collaboration with the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Government of Kerala. The film screenings as part of the film festival are being held for a period of three months starting from July 2022 to September 2022 in 81 CDSs of Kannur district. The Film Festival also aims at introducing films that have gained national and international attention to the inner villages.

The cinema screening in a CDS is from 10 AM to 5 PM, on a fixed day. The exhibition space will be determined according to the availability of school and panchayat auditoriums. It will be coordinated in such a way that upto 150 people can watch the movie at a time. Films such as Basanti, Freedom Fight, The Great Indian Kitchen, Manhole, Ottamuri Velicham and Ozhimuri will be screened at the festival. All NHG members and auxiliary group members can be a part of the film festival organized under the leadership of the CDS.