Profound and enriching experience of triumph of will and resilience over adversities was the major takeaway for students of the Press Club Institute of Journalism here from a talk on the topic ‘Community-based organisations and the media'.

The talk was led by Ms Sarada Muraleedharan, Executive Director of Kudumbashree, who was accompanied by a team of five field personnel.

SOCIAL COMMITMENT

The team shared with students anecdotes of women striving to achieve a positive turnaround for themselves, families and the larger society through entrepreneurial and societal commitment.

There were instances of women having converted barren land into enviable greenery, finding a foothold in the export market by entering uncharted domains of enterprise, or coming together to lend a helping hand to the destitute. Ms Bindu, a self-made entrepreneur of herbal products, narrated her success as well as the travails she had had to face while promoting the enterprise that has since earned her the epithet ‘Brahmi'.

COLLECTIVE FARMING

She recalled support given by Kudumbashree in developing many innovative products, including ‘Brahmi payasam' and ‘Brahmi jam'.

Starting from one, her unit named ‘Aiswariya' now produces 15 products that cater to the specific needs of her customers. The unit makes a gross monthly turnover of Rs 50,000 and a profit of Rs15,000.

The students cheered as Ms Vini of Kulathur talked about her success in collective farming and said that Kerala could turn self-sufficient in vegetables if only the trend is sustained for the next five years.

She also spoke about the encouraging stance of banks in giving loans to women groups as the banks are now convinced of the repaying abilities of groups.

HELPFUL BANKS

Ms Fathima Abdullah of Kasaragod described how her food products unit helped her raise enough money to facilitate the higher education of her son.

Ms Bindhu Rani said that as many as 102 Joint Liability Groups in and around Kazhakoottom in Thiruvananthapuram now have bank linkages and have collectively got loans worth Rs 50 lakh.

Ms Sarada Muraleedharan, meanwhile, took the students through the journey of Kudumbashree and how it has touched or transformed the lives of lakhs of women and their families in remote parts of the State.

KUDUMBASHREE TRAIL

There was never a dull moment in the session that spanned over three hours, with the Executive Director gently prodding and at times animatedly challenging the students to think and come out with their thoughts on what ails women of Kerala.

The students were all ears as she explained the evolution and growth of Kudumbashree. It now reaches out to 38 lakh women in the State, spread over 2.10 lakh neighbourhood groups or Ayalkoottams.

PRODUCTIVE INTERACTION

Questions from the students were wide and varied. While some wanted to know the initiatives taken to strengthen marketing of Kudumbashree's products, others pondered on the impact of the proposed move to bring in foreign direct investment in the retail sector.

The efficacy of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was also discussed at length. Mr S. Radhakrishnan, Director-in-Charge of Press Club, was also present.

vinson@thehindu.co.in

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