Once India became independent from British rule in August 1947, planned economic development, removal of social inequalities and eradication of poverty were the areas of the greatest concern to the political leadership of the time.
Beginnings of Kudumbashree:
Many different methodologies were tried by the various State Governments and the Government at the Centre to find a solution to India’s problem of poverty and social inequalities. but the problems continued to remain intractable. Eventually the realization came that this massive problem could be solved only by tackling it at the local level, by empowering local self government bodies, that is, by local governance. Necessary legislation was passed for decentralization of power and for channeling development funds through local bodies.
Kudumbashree was launched as a Poverty Eradication Project by the Government of the State of Kerala in May 1998, with the active support and involvement of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a Central organization.
What is Kudumbashree?
Kudumbashree is a community-based organization and it encompasses within its fold all sections of the poor. The vulnerable sections of society were identified, based on a 9-point index of risk factors which included:
- Substandard housing,
- Non-availability of safe drinking water,
- Non-accessibility to sanitary toilets,
- Illiteracy among adult family members,
- Alcoholics and drug-addicts in family,
- Inadequate financial means to meet family living expenses.
Organization structure:
A three-tier structure was adopted:
- The Neighbourhood Group at the graassroots level. Each group would consist of 15 to 40 members, each member representing a family. The members would all be women.
- The second tier is Area Development Society, formed by federating 8 to 10 Neighbourhood Groups.
- The next level is a Community Development Society, a registered body under the Charitable Societies Act, formed by federating a number of Area Development Societies.
Key Development Initiatives:
Kudumbashree programme is built around three critical components:
- Micro-credit
- Micro-enterprises
- Empowerment.
Savings of individuals and groups are pooled and Bank linkages are arranged including loans at concessional rates for financing various enterprises. Several successful enterprises have been launched which include IT initiatives, Rural Business Hubs,etc.
Kudumbashree means prosperity of the family. Empowerment of women leads to empowerment of the family and through the family to the community. Kudumbashree also has programmes today for special needs children (Buds Schools) and for rehabilitation of destitutes (“Asraya”).
Some relevant quotes:
“…Today I’m driving my Sunny and have a mobile. All group members drive own vehicle and cover more areas with greater volume of sales. My family members support me with great encouragement and appreciation. We have proved beyond doubt that poor women can excel if given an opportunity…..” - Annamma, a Kudumbashree member who is also a faculty for Kudumbashree Direct Marketing training unit.
“… I learnt more from the poor women of Malappuram than from the lecture halls of great institutions… Today, I feel happy being in Kudumbashree and part of a winning team…” - T.K. Jose, I.A.S., Executive Director-Kudumbashree.
Success Story of Kudumbashree at a Glance:
- One of the largest women’s movements in Asia.
- Over 3.7 million members, each member representing one family; the total covering more than 50 percent of all households in Kerala.
- Mobilised small savings of about $303 million from members.
- Disbursed loans to members amounting to over $861 million.
- Nurtured and developed approximately 28000 individual women enterprises in urban areas and 2750 individual women enterprises in rural areas.
- 46749 houses constructed in rural areas under the housing loan scheme of Kudumbashree.
Recognitions and Awards:
Many recognitions and awards have been received by Kudumbashree including from UNCHS, CAPAM and UNDP.
References:
All details and information for this article collected from the following sites:
http://www.sjsry-kudumbashree.org
http://www.thehindu.com (for picture of 12th Anniversary of Kudumbashree”.)
Balakrishnan Valanath - Balakrishnan Valanath is an India-based writer from Kerala, the "God's Own Country". After graduating in Economics and Law, he spent many ...
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