Capasity Enhancement

Seminars, workshops, interactive lectures, exposure visits, training camps etc are organized for enhancing capacities of women. Skill training in appropriate trades, leadership training, micro credit & bank linkage, motivating to contest Panchayat elections, etc are also done in this regard. Efforts are made to support them for self employment and starting micro enterprises.

Service providing centre (SPC)

It is a project of Kerala State Social Welfare Board under Domestic Violence (Prevention) Act-2005 for the protection of women from domestic violence. The Service Providing Centre (SPC) for the protection of women from domestic violence started to function in 2008. A Lady advocate is employed in the centre for providing free legal service to the women who are victims of domestic violence.

Holistic development of marginalized communities in Kanchiyar Panchayat of Idukki district in Kerala, India.

Duration: Project will be implemented in four years starting from May 2019 onwards.

Demography: Three Wards (Ward No. 4, 5 & 7) of Kanchiyar Panchayat in Idukki district of Kerala is selected for implementing the project activities. Total population of the selected wards is 5,285 (2,559 males and 2,726 females) who are members of 1,292 families. These families belong to two different socio-economic categries (as per the criteria of the government): “Below Poverty Line (BPL) and “Above Poverty Line” (APL). 53.5% families (691 families out of the total families) are in the BPL category and the remaining 601 families (46.5%) belong to APL. Among the BPL, 257 families belong to the socially backward groups of Scheduled castes and tribes.

The project aims to target 250 families belong to Poor and Middle Income Categories (170 BPL families and 80 APL families) from the small & marginal farmer categories. They are the direct beneficiaries of the Project. Financial support of the Project will be given only to the direct beneficiaries. Remaining around 1,000 families in the area will be motivated to join the project activities with their own resources and will be given technical guidance to improve their living standard too, and contribute to the overall impacts and sustainability of the Project. They will be the indirect beneficiaries.

Land is the most important asset and base of livelihood of all the families and therefore, economic status is generally defined on the basis of size of ownership of land. It is found that 90% of the families (224 hhs) belong to the category of marginal farmers (less than half hectare of land) and 6% (16 hhs) belong to small farmers (half to one hectare of land). Only 4% of the total families (10 hhs) are medium farmers having more than 1 hectare of land.

Objectives and activities:

Overall objective: The overall objective of the project is to improve living conditions of the selected 250 families belong to marginalized communities in the Kanchiyar Panchayat of Idukki District, Kerala, India with special focus on creating an atmosphere conducive for holistic development of the women and children.

Specific objectives and Related Activities: The project will have following four specific objectives with related activities, shown in brackets, to achieve the overall objective:

3. To organize the target people into Self Help Groups, Clusters and Federation to create a platform for capacity building, socio-economic empowerment, gender equity and realizing the rights of women and children. (Activities: Formation and strenthening of SHGs/Cluster/ Federation, Capacity building inputs to group leaders/ members, preparation of IEC materials, interface meetings, annual gatherings and celebrations).

4. To support and direct the target beneficiaries to have increased family income and better living conditions in the family and community. (Activities: Establishing Kitchen gardens,biogas plants, construction of ferro-cement rainwater storage tanks, income generation activities – dairy & goat, health insurance, awarness on health & hygiene, etc ).

5. To create a child-friendly environment in the project area that promotes education, life skill development and youth and protection of child rights. (Activities: Formation of childrens clubs, life skill training, career guidance seminar, awareness creation on child rights & issues, educational support, Childrens Day celebration, etc).

Success Story:Legal Support Stops Violence in Family

“Nisha has a child together with her husband Dominic. She has been mentally tortured by him. He was addicted to alcohol and got in debt because of his money mismanagement. Dominic has also misused the money earned by his wife Nisha, who is a life insurance corporation agent. His behaviour affected the studies of their child too. When they argued he became violent frequently and broke several phones, the TV and other house hold objects. During the counselling sessions at the Service Providing Centre, both were made aware of the legal situation. Dominic was referred to a psychiatrist. After taking medicine his behavious became normal so that the matter was settled successfully. He is now working as an agriculturalist and can repay his debts. The relation between both, husband and wife, improved and the violence stopped. The child is not strained by its parents’s problems any longer and is able to focus on his studies.”