Jessy Job opened a new chapter in her life when she was six months pregnant with her first child. For starters, she dumped her alcoholic husband and decided to live life on her own terms. “I come from a family of agriculturalists and started cultivating my one-acre plot for survival. Gradually, I took the lead to cultivate the indigenous Karupakara variety of bitter gourd on 12-and- a-half acres of leased land, along with a bunch of other women. Last year I earned Rs. 3.5 lakh from the harvest alone, most of which we export. Over the years, from the proceeds of my farming activities, I have built an 800 sq feet house, bought a car and a scooter too,” she says, with pride.
A member of Kudumbashree’s Nadathara unit in Thrissur, Jessy's is one of the many success stories that audiences will get to see in Doordarshan Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram’s new social reality show Ini Nanjal Parayam .
Set to premiere on March 8, International Women’s Day, it showcases the stories of economically-disadvantaged women entrepreneurs, who are part of the Kudumbashree Mission in the state.
In the same line as the channel’s much-acclaimed social reality show for panchayats, Green Kerala Express , this new show ‘envisages to select the best ideas and innovative and locally relevant development interventions’ carried out at the grassroots level by Community Development Societies (CDS) that function within the Kudumbashree Mission.
“If Green Kerala Express was about good governance, Ini Njangal Parayam is about people; ordinary folk who are individually and collectively making a difference to society. More than the economics, the show focusses on the stories of these women, a majority of whom come from economically disadvantaged families – how they have opened a social space in their villages, how they have risen above challenges to gain fiscal independence and become empowered,” says G. Sajan, deputy director and programme head, Doordarshan Kendra, Thiruvanthapauram. He is spearheading the reality show along with K.B. Valsala Kumari, executive director, Kudumbashree.
Drop by DD’s studio complex at Kudappanakunnu, where the first schedule of the shoot is in progress and you’ll understand the strides that these plucky women have taken in the few years that the project has been up and running. Their tales of entrepreneurial success and empowerment are at once inspiring as they are enviable. From micro-credit enterprises and vegetable, rice, dairy and poultry farming to teaching karate and driving, making handicrafts, soap manufacturing, running old age homes and serving up scrumptious eats, there’s nothing that these women can’t do, it seems. And all of it is being captured on camera.
Up in front of the camera is Mercy Gopi, chairperson, Nadathara CDS and her fellow green activists, including Jessy, some of who are dressed for the occasion in matching saris. “For the Onam market last year we sold a record Rs. 67 lakh worth of vegetables alone!” she says. The CDS also runs a profitable shampoo manufacturing unit and a women’s volleyball team, peopled by their own members.
While 22 enterprising women of Padinjarethara CDS from Wayanad wait their turn in the limelight, Geeta Vijayan, chairperson, talks about their efforts at farming indigenous varieties of rice (on 160 acres) and tubers and their successful floor mat manufacturing unit, which gives permanent employment to some 120 women.
“Working with Kudumbashree has changed my life completely. I used to be a shy homemaker, even afraid to step out of my house. If I went to the bank I would be made to wait. Now, I am proud to say that I am a role model for my children and women. Now, when I go to a bank, the manager pulls up a chair for me!” she adds. It’s the same tale of empowerment that each woman narrates.
K.P. Kannan, is one of the permanent jury members, along with former bureaucrat Nivedita P. Haran and Women’s Studies’ academic Mini Sukumar. Mightily impressed by the women, Kannan says: “ Ini Njangal Parayam not only showcases the dreams, the abilities and capabilities of the women but it also highlights the inherent strength of Kerala society. These women are not just slogging it out, they are actually enjoying life and transforming themselves. It just shows you that whatever economists claim, one cannot measure development by income alone.” Agriculturalist R. Haley the expert jury member for the day adds: “The show is a wonderful model for development communication.”
The show will be telecast daily from 7 p.m. Repeat telecast is on the following day, from 8 a.m.
Set for the contest
Of the 1,072 CDS in the state, after an initial scrutiny by an expert committee, only 70 of the top ones, both from urban and rural areas, five from each district, made the cut for the contest. A typical 40-minute episode of Ini Njangal Parayam starts with a short video of the innovative interventions of a particular CDS. The five-member jury panel, comprising three permanent members, one expert and one celebrity will then engage the representatives of each CDS in a question-answer session. At the end of the episode, each CDS will then be scored based on various factors such as their contribution to women’s empowerment, sustainability and so on.
“The top 15 CDS will be shortlisted for the semi-final round. Jury members will visit each shortlisted CDS and whittle the list down to five for the final round. In addition, 10 of the best individual projects, under various development categories will also be shortlisted for the best idea round,” explains Sajan.
On Kudumbashree
Launched in 1998, Kudumbashree is a women-centric, community-based poverty alleviation programme that was conceived as a joint project of the Government of Kerala and NABARD. The grassroots of Kudumbashree are Neighbourhood Groups (NHG) that send representatives to the ward level Area Development Societies (ADS). The ADS in turn sends its representatives to the Community Development Society (CDS), which completes the unique three-tier structure of Kudumbashree. Today, Kudumbashree is a network of over 40 lakh women, with 2.58 lakh NHG, over 19,700 ADS and 1,072 CDS.
Source: www.kudumbashree.org
