The members of the Haritha Karma Sena of Pattenchery Grama Panchayat, located in Kollangode block of Palakkad district, are carrying out very accurate and effective activities. Pattenchery Grama Panchayat has been able to create waste-free public spaces through scientific organic and inorganic waste management. 32 Haritha Karma Sena members in 16 wards are working tirelessly for the collection of inorganic waste. To make the collection of inorganic waste efficient, the panchayat has Mini material Collection Facilities and bottle booths in all the wards. In addition, trolley and vehicle facilities have been provided to the Haritha Karma Sena.

A Material Collection Facility (MCF) with modern facilities is functioning in the panchayat. Along with the facilities of billing machine, conveyor belt, weighing machine, basic facilities like dressing room, drinking water, electricity, fan, fire protection measures have also been ensured in this MCF. The panchayat is taking various campaigns and strict measures to make the collection of inorganic waste effective. Through such activities, it has also been possible to achieve 100% user fee in the last three months.

Bio-waste facilities have also been distributed at the household level in various projects to treat organic waste at source. Along with this, a Community Compost Facility has also been prepared in the panchayat compound.

Even before the activities of Haritha Karma Sena members spread across Kerala, the Vadakara Municipality in Kozhikode district had started implementing waste management activities vigorously using Kudumbashree NHGs. The Haritha Karma Sena in Vadakara, which operates under the name Hariyali, is one step ahead in everything. 'Hariyali' in Vadakara is also a shining example of how a local government institution has created a sustainable source of income for those working in waste management. Here, Haritha Karma Sena members not only earn a good income but also gain a respectable position in society.

The municipality did not provide special covers to homes or institutions to collect waste, instead it suggested that they make bags using old clothes or other things they had and sort them into them. The bottoms of old maxis were sewn and turned into large bags. Thus, a new product called the 'maxi bag' was born. Banians, petticoats, etc. later became bags.

Several initiatives are also being successfully implemented under the Hariyali Haritha Karma Sena. Another special feature is that they are all related to waste disposal. These include the Green Shop, which manufactures eco-friendly products including various types of cloth bags, the Swap Shop, which is a place to buy and sell reusable items, the Rent Shop, which rents out steel plates and glass instead of disposable utensils for celebrations and the Cleanliness Center, which sells organic waste treatment equipment and related supplies. In addition, there is a repair shop that identifies and reuses recyclable items from e-waste. Students from Vadakara Polytechnic provide training to the members of Hariyali in repairing.

Green Technology Centres are another section working with the aim of making Vadakara a carbon neutral municipality. This is implemented by combining training programmes in the field of waste management and various waste management systems. Various activities are being carried out such as energy clinics related to energy conservation, agri clinic for intervention in the agricultural sector, water clinic for water conservation, and up-cycling clinic where useless materials can be reused. Hariyali and Vadakara Municipality have the goal of transforming the Haritha Karma Sena to be suitable for various environmental and energy conservation activities of the country.

Perinthalmanna is the first municipality in Malappuram district to ensure 100% doorstep service. The 84-member Haritha Karma Sena was the driving force behind that achievement. The Haritha Karma Sena team, which was selected as the best Haritha Karma Sena in the district in the years 2023 and 2024, continues to provide its best services in all 34 wards every day. In addition, the municipality also collects organic waste and generates electricity from it.

The wards are divided into four clusters, with three people each, who go out to collect waste. The team owns two vehicles for this purpose. Organic waste collection started here in 2022 following a joint decision by the municipality and Haritha Karma Sena. They collect five to six tons of inorganic waste and four and a half to five and a half tons of organic waste daily.

The municipality has a Bio Shakti plant that can handle about 2000 kg of organic waste. Electricity is generated through this plant. Currently, 50 KW of electricity is generated in the plant. The acidic waste is removed from the organic waste collected by Haritha Karma Sena and sent to a shredder machine. Then it is sent to a crusher machine and is made into a paste. This is sent to a mixing tank and from there to a hydrolysis tank. Then chemicals are added and the waste is fed to the digestive tank as food for bacteria. The bacteria produce gas here. The scrubber machine removes the moisture and collects the gas produced in specific balloons. This is passed through valves to generators and generates electricity. The municipality also ensures equal wages for all the Haritha Karma Sena members. The daily wage is Rs. 550. Fertilizer is also produced from the collected organic waste.

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.