The Kudumbashree district mission has launched the second edition of its Karuthal campaign to lend a helping hand to its microenterprise (ME) schemes that continue to struggle following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interestingly, this promotion is intended to be carried out through the Kudumbashree network of 30,000 neighbourhood groups in 83 community development societies (CDSs).
Karuthal was first launched after the lockdown last year to support ME units that were hit hard by the pandemic and subsequent restrictions. The second edition was launched on November 20 to provide a fresh thrust to marketing of products made by the Kudumbashree ME units. It also comes on the heels of a Kudumbashree online shopping festival to boost the sagging sale of products made by Kudumbashree entrepreneurs.
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Priced at ₹500
The Kudumbashree district mission hopes that at least one kit worth ₹500 of various commodities will be taken by one neighbourhood group. “We hope at least one member will come forward to buy the kit or some of them can pool money and share the products. There is also an option to pay the CDS out of the collective thrift fund of the group in instalments,” says an official.
District panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar launched Karuthal in Kottukal grama panchayat, with 500 kits given to Kudumbashree neighbourhood groups on the occasion. It has been implemented in five other CDSs so far — Parassala, Chenkal, Maranalloor, Kanjiramkulam, and CDS 1 in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, says the Kudumbashree district official.
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10 products
A kit for ₹500 can include five to 10 products such as soaps and toiletries, snacks, curry powders, pickles, vegetables produced by Kudumbashree farming groups, masks and sanitisers, and seeds. The CDSs have been directed to customise the kits to include products made by local microenterprise units.
The district mission hopes to extend Karuthal to at least 40 CDSs this week.