A State-Level Training was organized for Resource Persons of 'Communicore', a language skill development project organized by Kudumbashree for children and youth in the local area. The main objective of the Communicore Project is to enhance the skills of the indigenous people in the global language English and to advance them in new employment sectors and higher education sectors.

This project is being implemented in the first phase in the areas where the Scheduled Tribe Special Scheme and the Scheduled Tribe Sustainable Development Scheme are being implemented under the leadership of Kudumbashree. The activities have been planned in such a way as to help in nurturing the language skills of the participants in the training to the maximum. Through this training, the aim is to provide extensive educational and employment opportunities to the people of the local area, increase their confidence and create the ability for the candidates to take a step into the job sector.

T.M. Rejeena, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission inaugurated the Resource Person Training, which was held at the Ernakulam Community Development Centre from 25 to 28 March 2025. Dr. B. Sreejith, State Programme Officer, Kudumbashree presided over the event. Ponni, District Programme Manager welcomed the gathering and  Jishnu Gopan, State Assistant Programme Manager  proposed the vote of thanks. 40 Resource Persons proficient in English from the districts implementing Scheduled Tribes Special Projects participated in the training.

Idukki's Erattayar Grama Panchayat has thrown the shameful history of receiving a warning from the National Green Tribunal in 2017 into the dustbin. This progress of Erattayar, which has risen to the level of providing training to other local bodies in the district in waste management, is being spearheaded by the members of the Haritha Karma Sena working in 14 wards.

The Haritha Karma Sena started systematic work in the panchayat in 2020 by forming a consortium and training the members. From 2021 to December 2024, the Haritha Karma Sena collected 406 tons of inorganic waste, including 210 tons of plastic waste. They earn an income of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 per month through waste collection and other activities.

Today, Haritha Karma Sena provides doorstep service to 100% of the houses and institutions in Erattayar Grama Panchayat. They also distribute 90% of the amount received as user fee by transporting waste materials. 10% of the amount is kept in the consortium account as a Corpus Fund and is used as a bonus on special occasions like Onam and for primary expenses in case of accidents that occur to Haritha Karma Sena members. Members are also included in the accident insurance policy.

Erattayar has an RRF facility that scientifically manages inorganic waste materials. They earn extra income by accepting sorted waste from nearby panchayats at a price and taking it to the RRF, where it is sorted again and handed over to various companies for recycling. In addition, the Employment Guarantee Board Construction Enterprise Unit is also being registered as a micro-enterprise by Kudumbashree.

Next is Erattayar Branded Organic Fertilizer

Erattayar Panchayat is moving forward with activities to generate income by launching its own brand of organic fertilizer. Organic waste collected from homes and various institutions is taken to the Thumboormuzhi unit with seven types of plants and windrow composting, where it is processed scientifically and converted into organic fertilizer. This fertilizer will be launched under  Erattayar's own brand. 150 to 300 kg of organic waste is processed daily.

The implementation of strict legal measures by the Gram Panchayat against unscientific waste processing and dumping of waste has also played a major role in making the work of Haritha Karma Sena effective. Representatives of other local bodies visit the panchayat to see first-hand the waste processing activities of Erattayar. In addition, members of Erattayar's Haritha Karma Sena visit other local bodies as trainers and provide value-added sorting training.

Kudumbashree will provide insurance coverage to 42 lakh NHG members in the state through the Jeevan Deepam Oruma Insurance Scheme, which provides excellent insurance coverage at an annual premium of Rs.. 200. The scheme is being implemented jointly by the Kerala State Insurance Department, Kudumbashree and Life Insurance Corporation of India. A campaign has been launched to enroll policyholders in connection with the scheme. The period is till 30 April 2025.

H Dineshan IAS, Executive Director,  Kudumbashree, Bushara S. Deepa, Joint Director, Kerala State Insurance Department and S. Raj Kumar, Divisional Manager, LIC Pension Group Scheme  signed the MoU of the project for the period of 2025-26. The project will be valid from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

The project was launched in the financial year 2020-21. In case of accidental death or death of any member of the NHG, financial assistance will be provided through the Insurance Scheme. People between the ages of 18 and 74 can join the scheme. If a member of the NHG between the ages of 18 and 50 dies naturally, the beneficiary will get Rs. 2 lakhs as per the policy. If a policyholder dies between the ages of 51-60, the beneficiary will get Rs. 80,000. If a policy holder dies between the age of 61-70 the beneficiary will get Rs. 30,000. If a policy holder dies between the age of  71-74   the beneficiary will get  Rs. 25,000. If an accidental death occurs, an additional Rs. 30,000 will be received as an accident benefit.

Earlier, if a member of the NHG took out a linkage loan and died, the other members would have to take over the loan liability of that person. However, with the insurance coverage, this situation will be avoided. The loan amount available to the deceased person will be transferred to the bank account of the NHG from the insurance amount available to the deceased person. The remaining amount will also be received by the heirs of the deceased person.

The premium collection from the NHG members is done through Bima Mitra, who are Resource Persons working at the CDS level. Activities including adding new members to the scheme and renewing existing policies are also done through Bima Mitra.

The signing ceremony of the MoU at the Kudumbashree State Mission was attended by Naveen C, Programme Officer, Abdul Basheer K, State Programme Manager, Neetu L. Prakash, State Assistant Programme Manager, Helen Alex, Branch Manager, LIC Pension and Group Scheme Section and Sudheer P.A, Assistant Director, Kerala State Insurance Department.

As part of the comprehensive tribal development project implemented by Kudumbashree in Noolpuzha of Wayanad, the Nankard Atte (Our Attam) village festivals organized under the auspices of Noolpuzha CDS were notable. These village festivals were organized with the aim of empowering NHGs, Balasabha, Bridge Courses, and Youth Clubs in the hamlets and to reach the deserving people more effectively with special projects implemented in the tribal area.

Along with organizational empowerment activities, artistic programmes were also held as part of the hamlet festivals. Kudumbashree was also able to initiate the initial steps of forming 6 new NHGs, 5 Balasabha and 8 Youth Clubs with these hamlet festivals.

The hamlet festivals organized in 11 hamlets in Noolpuzha began last month. The hamlet festivals concluded at Panayambalam village. The concluding session was chaired by Jaya, Chairperson, Noolpuzha CDS and was inaugurated by Shija Sateesh, President, Noolpuzha Grama Panchayat. Sai Krishnan, Project Co-ordinator, Tribal Special Project explained the project.  Jyotish, Animator welcomed the gathering and Indu, Animator delivered the vote of thanks.

Ahead of the State-Level Kudumbashree Awards, which were introduced to implement various project activities in Kudumbashree in the best possible way, the District Level Award Selection activities are in progress. The State-Level Award Distribution will be organized in conjunction with the Kudumbashree Day celebration on 17 May 2025. Awards will be given in 14 categories from Block Level to District Level and in a total of 17 Categories including 3 District Awards at the State Level.

Awards will be given at the block, district and state levels in the following categories: NHG, ADS, Ooru Samithi, CDS (Convergence, Individual Action, Governance - Micro Finance Activities), CDS (Agriculture-Animal Husbandry Sector), CDS (Social Development-Gender), CDS (Scheduled Tribes Sector), CDS (Non-Farm Livelihood - Enterprise, DDU-GKY, K-DISC), Enterprise Group, Entrepreneur, BUDS Institution, Gender Resource Centre, Auxiliary Group, Auxiliary Enterprise. There are also Awards in the categories of Best District Mission, Best Snehitha, and district that has provided Best Public Relations activities at the state level.

The District-Level Award determinations have been completed in Wayanad, Thrissur, Malappuram, and Kasaragod districts. The State-Level Award determination will be held from  21 to 27 April 2025.

Although Payyanur Municipality is the largest municipality in Kannur district, it was lagging behind in waste management until a few years ago. Today, 66 members of Haritha Karma Sena are changing all that and proudly holding their heads high, making the municipality waste-free. The urban residents are also thanking the Haritha Karma Sena members for helping their city achieve such an achievement. In addition to waste management, the Haritha Karma Sena members are also running successful projects under the supervision of Kudumbashree CDS and the municipality, from 12 NHGs.

The organic fertilizer manufacturing unit made from dry leaves is the highest-earning project among these. They also operate an inoculum manufacturing unit, a unit that rents utensils and glasses for weddings, a goods auto of Haritha Karma Sena, and a RRR (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse) unit that collects unwanted clothes, electronic devices, shoes, and bags collected from homes, repairs them, and delivers them to the needy free of charge. The cleaning unit, which uses state-of-the-art machinery, is one of the most profitable enterprises under Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission today.

As part of supporting Kudumbashree entrepreneurs to strengthen online marketing, a special training programme was organized with the support of NABARD. 149 Kudumbashree entrepreneurs participated in the two-day training program given to six batches over four days in Ernakulam.
The training was organized to help entrepreneurs list and sell products on leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, and promote them through social media. The training programme aimed to market about a thousand products produced by Kudumbashree entrepreneurs on e-commerce platforms.

The training provided by the 'Is Going Online' agency included classes and practical training on various topics such as the use of e-commerce platforms, online marketing methods, and digital payments. The agency will also provide six months of post-training support to all units that receive the training. Earlier, the International Labor Association (ILO), the International Training Centre, and Microsoft jointly provided Women in Digital Business training to NHGs. In addition, Kudumbashree is also making efforts to form District-Level Master Training Groups to effectively use online marketing channels and  to provide training to entrepreneurs at the grassroots level through them.

‘Liora Fest’ District-Level Summer Camps are being organized for Kudumbashree Balasabha members. The camp will be organized during May 2025. The ‘Liora Fest’ Summer Camp is a continuation of the ‘Mind Blowers’ Campaign that was started last year with the aim of imparting knowledge and creativity along with innovative lessons of entrepreneurship to the children who are members of Kudumbashree Balasabha.

The word ‘Liora’ comes from Hebrew language and the meaning of the word is light. Addiction is widespread among children. In such a scenario, the camp aims to enable children to realize that true addiction is the happiness that brings knowledge and natural instincts, discovering the aptitudes of each child in different fields. The aim is to provide mental and intellectual awakening to children by developing leadership skills, communication skills and creativity. Kudumbashree will provide State-Level training to the children who demonstrate excellence in the camp and provide them with the opportunity to present their ideas at the ‘International Innovation Conclave’ to be organized in 2026.

As part of selecting children for the summer camp, a ward-level children's gathering will be organized in all wards in the state on 8 April 2025, the day of the Kudumbashree Balasabha Election, with the participation of Balasabha members. A one-day workshop will be organized at the Panchayat-Municipal level with the best performing children, followed by a Block-Level Innovation Fest. The children selected from this will get the opportunity to participate in a Three-Day District-Level Summer Camp. 50 from each district will participate in the summer camp.

The summer camp will introduce about eight different topics to the children, including theater workshop, science magic, children and financial management, cybercrime; anti-drug activities, and leadership. Then the children will make presentations related to these. The 140 children who present the best will have the opportunity to participate in the 2026 'International Innovation Conclave'.

The Summer camp will introduce about eight different topics to the children, including theater workshop, science magic, children and financial management, cybercrime; anti-drug activities, and leadership. Then the children will make presentations related to these. The 140 children who present the best will have the opportunity to participate in the 'International Innovation Conclave 2026'

26,223 people have joined the ‘Inspire’ Insurance Scheme, jointly implemented by Kudumbashree and United Insurance Company to provide medical benefits to Haritha Karma Sena members, this year. The insurance scheme is being implemented as part of providing health security to the members of Haritha Karma Sena.

People between the ages of 18 and 75 can join the insurance scheme through their respective CDSs. The annual premium is Rs. 1384. Fifty percent of this will be provided by Kudumbashree and fifty percent by the Haritha Karma Sena Consortium. According to this, each member will only have to pay Rs. 692 each. Those who become members of the insurance scheme will receive a total of Rs 2 lakhs as medical benefits. Up to Rs. 50,000 will also be provided for existing illnesses. The policy holder will receive Rs. 2 lakhs in addition to this. Until last year, the medical benefit received through the scheme was Rs. 1 lakh.

Currently, to take out an individual insurance policy that provides a medical benefit of Rs. 2 lakhs, an annual premium of Rs. 5,000 to 6,000 is required. However, through the Kudumbashree 'Inspire' Insurance Scheme, they will get a benefit of Rs. 2 lakhs at an annual premium of Rs. 692. Another advantage is that Haritha Karma Sena members can join the scheme and ensure insurance coverage up to the age of 75.

The Haritha Karma Sena members in Thrikaripur in the same Kasaragod district of Kerala have come up with a way to generate additional income. A flower shop that sells flowers that are much needed in their area. They have named their enterprise as 'Haritha Flowers'. During the last Onam, the people of Thrikaripur did not go anywhere else in search of flowers. They came straight to 'Haritha Flowers' Flower Shop opened by the Haritha Karma Sena members. 'Haritha Flowers' was a relief to the people of Thrikaripur, who had been depending on Payyanur for flowers until then.

This initiative was launched in September 2024 in the Panchayat building at Thrikaripur Bus Stand by including in the Panchayat Project. Out of the 42 members of the Haritha Karma Sena, 10 of those members were given special training to run a flower shop. Now, all 42 members are running the flower shop with one heart.

The capital of the venture was Rs. 3 lakhs taken from the Panchayat scheme and Rs. 4 lakhs taken as a bank loan. At present, flowers are sold by purchasing them from nearby wholesalers. In the future, the entrepreneurs of Haritha Flowers aim to sell flowers directly from Bengaluru and Mysore. The Haritha Karma Sena members of Thrikaripur, who tried to earn additional income by utilizing their entrepreneurial skills without any hindrance to their work as Haritha Karma Sena members, are yet another excellent example of dedication and hard work.