Kudumbashree is gearing up to launch Aajeevika Express to solve the travelling difficulties in high range country side areas. The programme envisages to facilitate the services of jeep and auto through NHGs. Aajeevika Express would be launched as part of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).The pilot study regarding this would be conducted in Palakkad, Idukki and Thrissur Districts.

Aajeevika Express will not only solve the travelling difficulties of the people but also would help to find a livelihood.

Aajeevika Express, an initiative put forward by NRLM, which would give financial assistance for buying vehicles in high range areas would make revolutionary changes in this sector. As part of the pilot study, the programme will be executed in Parakkod & Ranni blocks of Pathanamthitta, Devikulam block of Idukki and Chalakkudy Block of Thrissur.

Kudumbashree envisions to launch Aajeevika Express where bus service of public or private transportation system aren't available. People out there are therefore forced to depend on parallel services for transportation which financially exploit them.

As per tge programme, Rs 6.5 lakh will be given to the units as interest free loan. The amount will be met from the community investment fund of NRLM. Selected women will be given training in driving. The training regarding the mechanical aspects will also be given to them.

Kudumbashree women had already started jeep service in Attappady of Palakkad and Edakkad Vayal of Ernakulam which was a huge success.

Kudumbashree women of Thrissur District supplied 6000 umbrellas to Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE). Kudumbashree mission had received an order worth Rs 14 lakhs from KSFE for the supply of umbrellas in their branches all over Kerala for distributing to the subscribers of their Onam Chits.

As per the tender called in August, Kudumbashree received the work order for supplying 6000 umbrellas in September. Friends Unit, Nice Unit, Jeeva Unit and Kripa Unit of Nelmanikkara, Velookkara, Vadanapallly and Chattisery respectively were entrusted to make the umbrellas. State Mission had given Rs 2 Lakh as crisis fund to all the units. 19 women from these 4 units completed their job by continuously working for 10 days in early morning to late night schedule. The umbrellas were distributed to the Thodupuzha, kattapana and Ernakulam Centres of KSFE as per the contract.

Eventhough, Kudumbashree Mission had received orders for making umbrellas from other departments, it is for the first time that Kudumbashree is receiving such a huge order.

Kudumbashree women made a flight journey to Delhi for attending the 'National Consultation on Livelihoods Development & Diversification' organised by Ministry of Rural Development at Delhi on 10th and 11th of October 2017.

A 110 member team including 80 NHG women attended the programme organised by MoRD. The programme co-ordinating the activities under National rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in different states was conducted at National agricultural Science Complex, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Pusa, New Delhi.

All Kudumbashree women were excited about their first flight journey. 72 CDS chairpersons, 8 members of MKSP, 14 block coordinators and concerned officials attended the two day programme representing Kudumbashree Mission.

The indigenous rice seed varieties from Kazargode had been showcased at the exhibition stall depicting the rich agricultural tradition of Kerala. Value added products like Pineapple Jam & squash from Ernakulam District, Saphalam Cashews from Kazargode District were also available for sale at the stall. Kudumbashree envisions to share the features of the MKSP activities and agriculture based Micro enterprises through this.

To improve the representation of women in agricultural sector, to promote the livelihood of women through organic way of cultivation are the aims of the centrally sponsered programme, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP). Kudumbashree is the nodal agency of MKSP in Kerala.

A Two day  training was organized by National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayathi Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad for State Mission Management units and District Mission Management Units (State and District Programme Managers) of  Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) on Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and  finance management at Kudumbashree State Mission office on 10 & 11 October 2017. 'Introduction& How to refer SOP', Due Diligence, Inspection, Placement Verification and Tracking, SOP revised norms and Financial Management were the major contents of the training programme.

Kudumbashree will start 10 buds school for mentally challenged children in association with Lions Club. As per the association, Lions Club will facilitate buildings and basic infrastructure for starting buds school in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. The first of its kind will be started at Chenganoor in November associating with the Chenganoor Municipality. The officials of the Lions Club 318 B assured that the space for starting the remaining buds schools will be facilitated by December itself.

Lions Club 318 B had already contacted Kudumbashree state Mission showing interest in giving space for starting Buds Schools. The decision regarding this was taken at the meeting presided by Dr K.T Jaleel, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala. Its as part of the 'Project LILLY' (Lions Initiative for Learning and Listening Deficiency ) programme of Lions Club that buds schools are going to be started. The programme envisages to support the needy and to rectify the learning disabilities of these children. Lions Club will also facilitate the services of behavioral therapist, occupational therapist, pediatric psychologist etc for these children. It is also planned to start rehabilitation centres to bring them to normal life by identifying their inherent skills and thereby to help them identify suitable job roles.

Kudumbashree Mission will conduct Maths Olympiad for Balasabha Members to make Mathematics education more easier and to make it more closer to nature and daily life. The state level inauguration of the same will be conducted in December in accordance with the birthday celebrations of the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. For the effective co-ordination of the competition, 2 resource persons and 2 mathematical experts were selected from every district. Shri Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission inaugurated the State level training programme organised for the selected Resource Persons and Mathematical Experts. The study modules and activities for the competition were also formulated during the training programme.

The programme aims to strengthen Balasabha and to make mathematics education easier for Balasabha members. Prior to the state level competition to be held in December, mathematics based competitions will be organised for LP, UP school children in Panchayath, Block and District levels. The competitions will be activity based. 10 students each will be selected from Balasabhas in Panchayath, Block and District levels. The training regarding this will be given by the 10 member team including Resource person from each district and mathematical experts. Activity based workshops on 'Mathematics in daily life', ' Mathematics in Nature' etc will be conducted in ward level at Balasabhas before October 20th.

During the workshop, classes will be taken on the life and contributions of famous mathematicians. About 500 Balasabha members will take part in the state level competition. Maths Olympiad will undoubtedly be a wonderful opportunity for the Balsabha students to get in tune with the magic of Mathematics.

Kudumbashree Mission is all set to write yet another success story by conserving traditional rice seeds of Wayanad through Seed Bank. The project of Wayanad District Mission envisages to conserve and propagate seven vanishing indigenous rice seeds, which would be executed through Joint liability groups (JLGs) of the mission. As the traditional rice varieties are in the verge of extinction, hence Kudumbashree Wayanad District Mission came up with this initiative. The pilot project has been executed by the district mission through Kairali JLG under Poothadi CDS. Shri. I.C Balakrishnan MLA, inaugurated the seed bank on 2 October 2017. Five and half acres of fallow land at Kenichira under Poothadi grama panchayat has been utilized for this. The programme is implemented under Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) programme.

The indigenous rice seeds include aromatic rice varities such as Gandhakasala and Jeerakasala; short-term rice seed Palthondi; medicinal rice varieties such as Chenellu and Rakthashali and long-term term rice seeds such as Veliyan and Adukkan. The harvested paddy will be preserved as seed and the cultivation will be extended across the district. Seed bank programme will be purely in organic method of cultivation.

Kudumbashree is also experimenting a new agricultural method ‘ Kainaatti’-the bioslurry pellet method to sow seeds to reduce the input cost. It is an innovative method of rice cultivation developed by Aji Kunnel, a progressive farmer in the district, which will save both time and money as there is no need to prepare a nursery for paddy plants. Organic fertiliser mixes are made in tablet format with seeds put inside and are left to germinate. Organic fertiliser for this is made using cow dung, various plant juices and panchagavya.

The mission is planning to expand the project on 300 acres next year. Wayanad District Mission will buy the seeds after harvest from the JLG group at a premium price and disburse it to 300 JLGs in the district next season to promote these indigenous seed varities.

Mechanised Coir producing units, which will create new job opportunities for Neighbourhood Group Women started working in the state. Its regarding the acceptance for the coir products in other countries and for improving the use of the same, that Kudumbashree Mission framed this programme. The programme was officially inaugurated by Dr. T.M Thomas Issac, Minister for Finance, Government of Kerala at Pariyaram, Kannur.

The new programme aims at extracting coconut fibre from raw coconut husks. The Coir Board will procure the fibre from the units. It is planned to start 30 units across the state in the first phase. The infrastructure for the programme will be met from the side of Local Self Government Department institutions, if they have any. The Kerala State Coir Manufacturing Company, Alappuzha will provide the defibering machine absolutely free to the women who are interested to start such units,which would enable them to extract fibre from raw coconut husks. For operating this machine for 8 hours, 8000 husks are needed per day.The procurement of these husks will be done by the units itself.The units may also find extra income by selling the coir pith, the byproduct of the fibre extracting process.

Preference will be given to those who wish to start micro enterprising units who an make high quality coir and value added products from this fibre. It is also planned to start units which would produce floor mats, door mats, aquarium filters and coir geotextiles.

The programme aims to secure job & income for Kudumbashree women and thereby strengthen the coir sector. The expert NHG women in this area therefore can make use of their freetime in a fruitful way and can find income out of it. The mechanised system will help to increase the production and it would increase the physical strain. The First phase activities had already been started in different panchayaths of Thrissur, Malappuram and Kazargod and soon will be started in Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad.This would attract more women to this sector and thereby maximum promotion would be given for coir products.

Kudumbashree is about to launch 'Sandesh' Mobile App for direct communication with the State-District Mission and Neighbourhood Groups. Kudumbashree Members who use smart phones may download it. The App will be inaugurated soon.

It's a notable that, by launching mobile app, the state-district officials will therefore be able to communicate the details of the new programmes and decisions to the NHG level directly.The NHG members may consult Kudumbashree officials for clearing their doubts regarding the programmes through the app. It is planned to make avail the services of the mobile app to 44 lakh member families. In the first phase of the project, 10 lakh families would get the services of the mobile app. The District Mission officials had already collected the mobile numbers of around 1000 chairpersons.

The complete development customisation and back end support is provided by Tata Consultancy services(TCS) as part of their CSR activities, making it completely free for Kudumbashree. The NHG members who need the mobile app may inform it to the concerned CDS. The mobile numbers collected through CDS will be send to District Mission Offices and then to State Mission. It is the responsibility of Management Information System of Kudumbashree Mission, to register those mobile numbers. Once the registration is complete, the NHG Members will receive the link to download the app. The app which is fully designed in Malayalam language represents a big step forward in the communication system of Kudumbashree Mission.

Kudumbashree bags the Award for Best Stall in Saras Fair held at Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 15-26 September 2017. Hasthakala unit from Kochi and Bapuji Unit from Kozhikode bagged the award for the best stall and highest sales.

On behalf of Kudumbashree Micro Enterprise units, Smt. Ambika Venu, Consultant, Micro Enterprises received the award from Shri A.K.Singh, Director, District Rural Development Agency, Ahmedabad.

Every year entrepreneurs from Kudumbashree take part in Saras Fairs organised by other states. This time members of Hasthakala unit (Ernakulam), Aavani Unit (Pathanamthitta), Bapuji Unit (Kozhikode) and 4 ME consultants took part in the fair. It is notable that they made a record sale of Rs 5 lakh within 10 days. Spices, ayurvedic products, herbal products, bamboo rice, chips, pickles, rice powder, arrowroot powder, eco friendly bags, honey and other products were available for sale in Kudumbashree stalls. Kudumbashree women consider this as an opportunity to sell their products outside our state. By taking part in saras fair outside Kerala, they are now able to find more market for their business. A marketing team was also set up in connection with saras fair for extending support for them. The products of entrepreneurs who were unable to attend the fair was also collected and displayed by the marketing team. Therefore entrepreneurs from different units could sell their products with the help of marketing team.

Kudumbashree will also take part in tge Saras fair to be held at Vijayawada from 27 September to 8 October 2017. They will also take part in the upcoming sars fairs to be held at Jaipur (Rajastan), Himanya Saras( Utharaghand), Dehradun, Goa in October, Kolkata in November and Bhilai( Chathisgarh) in December. By taking part in saras fairs across the country, entrepreneurs are getting more income and more market for their products.