KERALA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY (KEDES)
Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology(Under the Aegis of Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India)
Zone-V-A (Core C), 2nd Floor, India Habitat CentreLodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Tel.: 2464 2395, Fax: 2464 8607Website: www.capart.nic.in
experiences inpartnership
Prayas
By
Ess
ence
Adve
rtis
ing S
erv
ices
KERALA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY (KEDES)
By Eshita Singh
For long, there has been a feeling that there should be an unbiased evaluation of
various successful projects undertaken by CAPART. The purpose of this
evaluation is to inspire other voluntary organizations as well as set an example
for carrying out developmental activities. With this intention, we chose Kerala
Educational Development and Employment Society (KEDES) ,
Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala to study its activities and progress. KEDES
has been working on a broader platform of Rural Development and improving
methods of Mass Education and Development.
In this they have received extensive support from CAPART. This book is an
analysis of KEDES’s work. It provides details of the collaborative approach and
activities of CAPART and the NGO and the activities that they have undertaken
to broaden the horizon of development and implemented activities which have
resulted in community development at grassroots level.
– A Success Story
C O N T E N T SNo. Particulars Page Nos.
1. Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
2. P.N. Panicker - Icon of Kerala's Total Literacy Movement. . . . . . . . 4-5
3. Women Empowerment through Awareness and Training Programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
4. CAPART Paves the Path for Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-17
5. Training cum Production Centre Wood Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20
6. Kedes Building Centre : Chathanoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-22
7. Kedes: A Catalyst for Social Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-27
8. The Encounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30
9. Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
10. Finally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
11. KEDES Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
12. Board of Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
13. Grants Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
KERALA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY (KEDES)
Genesis
Kerala Educational Development and Employment
Society (KEDES) came to the fore in 1990,
initiated by a committed team of enlightened social
workers of Kerala, under the leadership of the
world famous social activist and reformer P.N.
Panicker.
He was the father of many non-formal education
movements like KANFED, literacy campaigns such
as 'Total Literacy 1986', and novel institutions like
Kerala Grandhasala Sanghom (Kerala State
Library Council). In fact, the Kerala Grandhasala
Sanghom is currently running over 7,000 libraries.
Though this eminent personality passed away in 1995, Panicker has been the moving
spirit behind Kerala's socio-cultural renaissance during the later half of the century and
KEDES was founded to act as a torch bearer for all round development.
The Thrust
The main thrust of KEDES is to reduce
poverty by investing in the development of
human capital by developing skills and
imparting knowledge to the neo-literates for
their sustainable development. Witnessing
the yeoman services in terms of improving
the occupational skills and technical
The institution also facilitates rural folk to
set up micro and small village industries
under the Govt. of India's Khadi and
Village Industries programme by providing
part time or full time employment to the
poor after imparting the appropriate
training. The accent of KEDES is on
organizing vocational, skill based training,
ICT-control led educat ion or on- l ine
education, apart from creating mass
awareness for inclusive growth.
One of the major activities of KEDES is to
organize Entrepreneurial Development
Programmes (EDPs), with the focus on
varied fields like Information Technology,
Bio-Technology, Tourism, Fruit Processing
Major Activities
and Rural Management to broaden the
entrepreneurial horizons. CAPART is
actively supporting KEDES in organizing
EDPs.
Another major activity of KEDES is
construction of cost effective rural houses.
Currently, it is one of the most competent
agencies in Kerala in terms of developing
low-cost construction techniques and
participatory housing schemes.
Considering the commendable services
rendered by KEDES in promoting Souhrida
Grama Sanghoms (SHGs) in the name of
is founder, Government of Kerala has
nomina ted the D is t r i c t Panchaya t
Presidents as the Chairpersons of the
District level P.N. Panicker Souhrida
Grama Sanghoms (SHGs).
knowledge of the neo-literates through
training programmes, Ministry of Human
Resource Development entrusted a Jan
Shikshan Sansthan (Institute of Mass
Education) the erstwhile Shramik Vidya
Peeth to KEDES, which is effectively
functioning at Kollam district of Kerala
state.
The Mission
The mission of KEDES is to empower the rural population with the tool of information and provide them livelihood on
a sustainable basis.
2 3
.N. Panicker's life gave credence to
Ralph Waldo Emerson's observation Pthat “an institution is the lengthened
shadow of one man”. A frail Khadi-clad old
man, he left a shadow that has grown over
the years making him a legend in his own
lifetime and thereafter. The activities of the
Kerala Grandhasala Sanghom (Kerala State
Library Council) ignited a popular cultural
movement in Kerala at the end of which the
state acquired total literacy in the 1990s. It
was the work of P.N. Panicker who carried
the message of education and development
to even the remotest corners and neglected
pockets of Kerala.
The Grandhasala Sanghom which began
humbly with 45 libraries in 1945, grew into a
network of more than 7,000 libraries
spreading over all the towns and villages of
Kerala. To give this activity a developmental
format, he organized the Kerala Association
for Non-Formal Education and Development
( K A N F E D ) . T o g e t h e r , t h e s e t w o
Associations converted an activity into a
movement which had a profound impact on
the education, culture and development of
Kerala.
Born on 1st March, 1909 in Kuttanad, in the
erstwhile Travancore state, the young
Panicker showed a keen interest in reading
newspapers and books. Not only did he read
himself, he also read the daily news to
groups of illiterate people of all ages. In a
small room given by the local cooperative
society in his village, Panicker started a
reading centre called Sanadanadharma
Library. This was the little pebble which was
to have a major ripple effect. An admirer of
Mahatma Gandhi, Panicker was inspired by
the Mahatma's words that “illiteracy is a
curse and shame of the country and it
should be wiped out as early as possible”.
Social historians of the state are of the view
that the cultural revolution following the
social emanicipation movements initiated by
Shree Narayana Guru, Ayyankali, VT
Bhattathiripad and others was the outcome
of Panicker's library movement. He walked
through the state contacting men and
women everywhere, generating awareness.
The idea, inspiration and leadership for
making Kerala the first totally literate state of
the country came from Panicker and his
KANFED. The state-wide popular movement
called Sakshara Keralam through a time-
bound intensive campaign involving
thousands of voluntary workers achieved
success in 1991.
Disturbed by the fissiparous tendencies that
he saw growing in the country, Panicker also
worked to foster social amity and harmony.
For this, he devoted his last years to
t he F r i endsh ip V i l l age Movemen t
(Souhridagramam). He continued traveling
and working vigorously, sustained by his
s imp le Gandh ian l i fes ty le and an
indomitable will till he passed away on 19th
June, 1995. The Government of Kerala
o b s e r v e s 1 9 t h J u n e a n n u a l l y a s
Vayanadinam (Day of Reading), with a
week-long series of activities at schools and
public institutions to honour the contribution
of PN Panicker to the cause of literacy and
education. The National Literacy Mission
has been inspired largely by the work of this
frail man who converted a simple slogan of
“Read and Grow” into a powerful movement.
Govt. of India's Department of Posts issued
a commemorative postage stamp of Five
Rupee denomination on 19th June, 2004 in
honour of Shri PN Panicker.
It is a matter of immense pleasure that the
tiny spark ignited by this great man has
burst into a huge flame of light that has
spread to every nook and corner of Kerala,
spreading the illumination of literacy and
drowning the darkness of ignorance through
the myriad educational programmes.
P.N. Panicker – Icon of Kerala's Total Literacy Movement
4 5
n order to make the rural populace self-Isufficient, it is always better to organise
awareness programmes in the villages,
instead of providing them access to the
resources. KEDES is also of the view that:
'Attaining self-sufficiency is the key to
Sustainable Development'.
Women Empowerment through awareness and
training programmes
cut off from the mainstream of society till
yesterday, have now joined the mainstream
and are setting the benchmarks of rural
development. All this became possible due
to the introduction of CAPART's awareness
programmes. KEDES received financial
assistance from CAPART to initiate small-
scale awareness programmes at the
knowledge centre at Aruvikkara village,
which motivated even ordinary women to
become self-sufficient. After creating
awareness and motivating the rural women,
KEDES imparted them training in different
handicrafts.
KEDES training included skill-training in
soap-making, sewing, stitching, paper bag-
making, fruit preservation, etc. After
undergoing the training, many rural women
have started their own cottage industries.
The 46 year old Thressia
is an M.Com. graduate
but was jobless. There
was always a financial
crisis at her home, which
used to cause a lot of
tension. Thressia did not
know what to do with her life. In the
meanwhile, she underwent training at the
KEDES training centre, after which she
opened her own shop. Today Thressia's life
has taken a complete U-Turn. She has
regained her confidence as she earns a
monthly income of about Rs. 5000. Apart
6 7
Aruvikkara vi l lage, situated just 20
kilometers away from Kerala's capital city
Trivandrum has witnessed a sea change in
the mundane lives of the local rural women.
The women of Aruvikkara have regained
their lost confidence due to the sincere
efforts of KEDES. These women, who were
from this, she is imparting training to nine
rural women.
As per Thressia “Rural women do not need
financial assistance. In fact they need
guidance so that they can become self
sufficient by utilizing the local resources. My
tailored dresses are in great demand in
other villages as well. This is just a
beginning and I am positive that my income
will increase. We are not getting the desired
support from the banks, since they are not
sure that an ordinary woman would be able
to return the bank loan. Therefore, CAPART
should help us in this regard.”
Similar is the case of
Saira Banu. Educated up
to Class 12th, Saira Banu
also underwent training
in computer education at
the KEDES centre. After
the training she has
started her own computer training centre
and has become self sufficient. Saira Banu
states that “I take up every work as a
challenge. Hence I have started my own
business and also provide free education to
poor children.”
Reema Mol from Aryanadu village is full of
confidence and has the will to surge ahead
in life. After taking training in fabric painting,
Reema gets a daily job of painting ten
sarees. This skill provides her a monthly
income of over Rs. 5000. Reema's family
now leads a more prosperous life than
before. Now, Reema is planning her future
to further her business.
Aswathi, of the same
village could not continue
her studies due to the
paucity of money. Her
father is a daily wager
and the bread earner of
the family, who does not get his wages on a
regular basis. This irregular income resulted
in the economic downfall of the Aswathi
household. This is where the KEDES
training rescued Aswathi in this crisis.
KEDES volunteers motivated Aswathi to
start a cottage industry. She was not
confident to initiate any cottage industry to
begin with, but started a soap making unit
with the help of KEDES. She started
supplying soap to local shopkeepers.
Gradually Aswathi's soap became very
8 9
popular even in the surrounding villages.
Today she earns a monthly income of about
Rs. 3000. Her family is now leading a
normal life and Aswathi has discovered the
path to sustainability.
Sachin and Vishnu Kumar of the Aruvikkara
village after getting trained in paper bag
making helped their families economically
by making paper bags. Most of the
beneficiaries have started their own
enterprise after undergoing training at the
KEDES training centre. The main volunteers
of KEDES, namely Sudha Menon, Lekha
and Indira are of the view that if a vocational
training is imparted in an appropriate
manner and a coordinating agency
organizes bank loans for the beneficiaries
then the problem of unemployment could be
solved for the good. KEDES institute also
provides employment to the beneficiaries
after the training, otherwise the training is a
total waste. The basic philosophy of KEDES
is that strengthening the village economy is
the only path to the holistic development of
the nation. The local Panchayat President,
K. Sukumaran has stated that “KEDES
operates in a very transparent manner.
KEDES volunteers visit the villages to
motivate the youth to set up cottage
industries. They also help them in getting
bank loans. I am extremely happy that
KEDES is doing excellent work in my village.
The sal ient feature of the KEDES
Knowledge centre at Aruvikkara is the fact
that 90 percent of the beneficiaries here are
women. All the women who have undergone
the t ra in ing courses are marching
successfully ahead in life. When KEDES
secretary N. Balagopal was asked about this
phenomenon, he responded: “If a woman
earns a wage of 100 rupees, she provides
90 rupees to the household, whereas the
man earning the same wages only provides
10 rupees to the family. Women are
concerned about running the household and
spend minimum money on themselves,
whereas men's personal expenditure is a lot
more than that of women. Thus, women
beneficiaries undergoing the KEDES
training programme have been more
successful.”
Income Generation Programme in Fruit Processing Training in autorickshaw driving for womenTraining in horticulture production
10 11
CAPART Paves the Path for Progress
EDES has taken up a number of Kprojects to educate the rural masses
t h r o u g h a w a r e n e s s a n d t r a i n i n g
programmes. The Institution has earned
appreciat ion and support f rom the
Government bodies and local agencies for
conducting training programmes on income
generating activities and skill-training to
create sustainable livelihoods through
locally available resources. The KEDES
training programme highlights the slogan
'EMPLOYMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
AND ENTERPRENEURSHIP'.
Nowadays, there is a lot of hustle and bustle
in Chathanoor village of Kollam district.
The local people are excited about the
recently established Jan Shikshan Sansthan
Kollam and training-cum-production centre
set up by KEDES, with the CAPART's
Skill Development Programme in Cost Effective Building Techniques Spinners are given awareness on health and family planning
Self employed entrepreneur storing finished pickles
Parliamentary Consultative Committee for Rural Industriesat one of the KEDES Training cum Production Centre
12 13
assistance. They are hopeful that this centre
will not only provide them employment but
also help them join the mainstream rural
development. This training centre and JSS
are running a number of training programs
like woodcraft, brick making, carpentry,
blacksmithy, horticulture etc.
In fact, KEDES has prepared the training
material as per the local demand and
availability of the local resources in order to
provide training, leading to creation of
sustainable livelihoods at the local level. The
basic premise of the CAPART project is also
the same, as its aim is to provide
employment to the local people and
enhance their income.
Kaumudi of Chathanoor village is a
housewife. She has undergone her training
of just two weeks under this scheme and
became a trainer. She trained many
entrepreneurs to set up own home units for
production of paper bags, Agarbathi
(incense sticks) and candles. Though, she
was not confident to begin with, KEDES-JSS
Director - Nadakal Sasi guided her and
boosted her confidence. Thus Kaumudi
started collecting and selling the products in
the local market. Today, Kaumudi is earning
to the tune of Rs. 3000 to Rs. 4,000 per
month.
Similar is the story of Saraswati
from Kollam district. After gaining
awareness of the schemes of
CAPART, she is planning to
in i t ia te her own voluntary
organization to address the problems of
hunger and poverty. Saraswati states that
“We used to always quarrel for money at
home, as we had never enough of it. But,
after the training in candle making, agarbathi
making and paper making, I have started my
own business.” Today, Saraswati and her
friends earn around Rs. 3000 per month
individually.
After receiving the training at
Chathanoor, Girija's life is turning
over a new leaf. Though Girija is
not as successful as she had
h o p e d , K E D E S a n d J S S
volunteers are helping Girija to start her own
enterprise.
Asha from Kalluvathukkal village
of Kollam district is a BPL
member. Af ter undergoing
training in a beauty parlour
course from Chathanoor, Asha started her
own business with a loan of 50,000 rupees
from the Indian Bank. KEDES helped her
procure this bank loan. Today Asha has a
monthly income of more than Rs. 7000.
In this entire event, KEDES and JSS
volunteers have to work very hard to
establish the beneficiaries. Generally, the
beneficiary has to acquire guidance and
financial assistance after taking the training.
In this process, the entire exercise is a futile
one if the beneficiary loses his or her
confidence. If the beneficiary is successful in
procuring the loan and synchronizing with
the local market, he/she can run his
business smoothly.
Anitha from Kalluvathukkal village has
started a tailoring and boutique unit at
home, from where she is conducting a
number of small businesses. Her monthly
income amounts to about Rs. 7000. There
are six people working in Anitha's production
centre. In fact, Anitha has imparted training
in cutting and tailoring to 35 girls from
KEDES and JSS Centre.
Sheeja Prakash from Edanadu village
underwent training of KEDES in Vermi-
compost making in the year 2005. Today,
her life has changed for the better. Apart
from Vermi-composting, Sheeja Prakash
has also started poultry farming, mushroom
cultivation and fruit preservation.
Her husband is also helping her in this
venture. Both husband and wife look after
the household and have admitted their
children in good public schools.Production and marketing of paper bags
14 15
The point to be noted is that KEDES has
never asked CAPART to provide financial
assistance for big projects. The institution is
of the view that small awareness camps and
training help provide a new direction to the
rural women. Actually, the training has no
meaning if the KEDES volunteers do not
help the beneficiary in the post training
period.
KEDES has an altogether different viewpoint
regarding this issue. KEDES-JSS Director
Sasi is of the view that the real work starts in
the post training phase wherein the
challenge is to organize loan for the
beneficiary. In such a situation, our
volunteers accompany the beneficiary to the
bank and get the loan approved, apart from
guiding them all the way.
Mr. V. Venkatachalam, Director General, CAPART inaugurating the awareness programme
Income Generation Programme in Palm Leaf Plates Making
Skill Development programme in solid waste management
Skill Development programmes in Mobile phone servicing, Computer hardware etc.
16 17
KEDES volunteers have unanimously
demanded that CAPART should help the
beneficiaries acquire the bank loan without
collaterals. CAPART officials should interact
with the top bank officials to solve this
problem.
Income Generation Programme in Soap Making
Production of coir pith manure and construction of vermi compost units
Floriculture for Income Generation
ICT Training
Training programme in mushroom cultivation
Production of Handmade paper
18 19
Training cum Production Centre
Wood Craft
KEDES had initiated a unique scheme of
training illiterate and neo-literate women in
wood craft and equipping them to acquire
their skill along with continuing education.
Girls are trained in circular saw operation,
planning machine operation, lathe work,
carving, chiseling, buffing, polishing etc. for
the production of value added products from
with high value machines and professional
techniques. The home units managed by
women will process the wood items
collected from the Common Facility Centre
and brought back to the CFC in semi
finished form. Through this activity the
women headed families can be ensured
regular income and they can be empowered
through skill development and education.
Each trained artisan trained and promoted
the wood waste collected from big wood
processing units. Guitar back and side,
finger board, parquet flooring chips and
wood - handicraft materials are produced.
Processed rubber wood is used for joinery
items in low cost houses. The training cum
production centre of KEDES functions as
the Common Facility Centre (CFC) where
training is imparted, raw materials are
stored, fine finishing and marketing is done
KEDES Building CentreChathanoor
he Building Centre promoted by
K E D E S i s e s t a b l i s h e d a t TChathannoor. The Building Centre
supervises and constructs buildings and
structures using cost effective technology
conceived and promoted by HUDCO.
Building materials like Hollow Bricks, Ferro
Cement Slabs, Concrete Joinery items,
Funicular Shells etc., are manufactured in
bulk and they are made available for
construct ion purpose. Through the
consultancy and R&D work of KEDES
Building Centre. Building Centre had
successfully undertook and completed the
work orders of supplying cost effective
joinery items worth Rs. 87 lakhs to Kerala
20 21
by KEDES earns Rs.100 to 200 per day.
Through this activity all the members of the
households are attracted to the programme
there by ensuring sizeable income which
leads to total development. These
beneficiaries assemble few days at the
Common Facility Centre to improve their
skills and exchange their problems and
prospects for better living. Successful
a r t i sans tu rned ent repreneurs are
channelised to acquire institutional finance
with dosage of Govt. subsidy to set up their
own micro enterprises and umbrella support
is provided by KEDES. The initial support to
commence this training cum production
centre was derived from CAPART and later
financed by the KVIC and banks.
Training in production of value added products such as bouquet and garlands under floriculture programme
KEDES is sincerely working as a catalyst to
bring about social change. It is nurturing a
revolutionary concept of total employment in
a vi l lage through rural employment
programmes by coordinating the schemes of
different governmental agencies for
achieving total employment in a village
within a short span of five years. The
Society is on the verge of setting up an
institute in the memory of late P.N. Panicker,
its founder. The P.N. Panicker Manava
Vikas Kendra is being set as the capacity
building arm of KEDES by designing and
delivering courses and seminars promoting
knowledge networks and community
development.
Through the Non Conventional Energy
programmes, KEDES has installed more
than 15,000 smokeless chulhas and
constructed 70 biogas plants with KVIC
support. It has also supplied 410 solar
lanterns and conducted regular training
programmes for rural energy technicians. It
Renewable Energy
KEDES: A Catalyst for Social Transformation
Science awareness to farmers
22 23
State Housing Board. Ferro cement slabs
worth Rs. 176 lakhs to Kerala State
Electricity Board. Through this Building
Centre KEDES have constructed 121 EWS
house at Nelliyampathy, Palakkad district.
In the efforts of KEDES to empower women
through technology KEDES has drawn up a
unique training programme in Cost Effective
Building Techniques to women. Through this
special training programme women will be
equipped to take up rural housing delivery
system with people's
participation. P.N.
Panicker Souhrida
Grama Sanghom
(SHGs), the grass
root level units of
K E D E S a r e
implementing this
scheme in the rural
a r e a s w i t h t h e
s u p p o r t a n d
participation of local
panchayats.
The training programme, designed by
KEDES in Cost Ef fect ive Bui ld ing
Techniques has come up with the concept of
motivating women to take up production of
building materials to pool their energies to
reduce cost and get better returns. The
training programme helps women hitherto
treated as unskilled workers to become
entrepreneurs and complement the masons
- and not to supplement them as unskilled
workers. Through this training programme
1110 rural women were trained under the
self-employment project.
The Building Centre has successfully
completed a major project of construction of
Executive Hostel Building of the Institute of
Co-operative Management (ICM) of the
Government of India, at Trivandrum and
Kannur with a total cost of Rs. 352 lakhs.
24 25
is also busy promoting bio-manure and
vermi-culture to popularize organic farming.
KEDES believes that the three elements
pivotal to human development are
longevity, education and control over
resources. In this effort to build healthy
people, KEDES is conducting a series of
training programmes to upgrade the skills of
voluntary health workers in order to
strengthen their capacity and ensure better
health for rural population. Awareness
programmes are organized with the focus on
traditional medicines including Ayurveda,
Health Education
Yoga, Homeopathy and Naturopathy
systems.
Realizing the importance of environmental
conservation, KEDES has established a
forum of Self Help Groups and other rural
organizat ions to address the local
environmental issues. In the same vein, it
organizes awareness camps to orient
volunteers in mobilizing the capacities of
l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s f o r p r o m o t i n g
technologies that help conserve the use of
natural resources.
Sustainable Development
Forum
Health education through multimedia technique
Labour Literacy
Jan Vigyan Vedi
To provide sustainable livelihoods to the
rural youth, KEDES has formulated the
Thozhil Saksharata Project (the Labour
Literacy Project). This project is being
i m p l e m e n t e d i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h
P.N. Panicker Souhrida Grama Sanghoms
(SHGs). The basic premise of the project is
to evolve a mind set among the rural youth
to take up productive work or service
activities that are abundantly available in
their surroundings. This project boosts their
morale and self esteem through recognition,
social status and awards.
KEDES has initiated promotion of “Jan
Vigyan Vedi”- a platform for learning and
scientific intervention. Every month, experts
from varying fields present a topic pertaining
to village industries and rural development
and the participants interact through
discussions. All this is circulated through a
newsletter to all concerned agencies and
form a part of the monthly educational
programmes of KEDES.
Inauguration of Litigation free panchayat programme
Union Minister addresses awareness programme
26 27
Jan Vigyan Jatha
To educate, energize and revitalize the rural
population as well as the social workers of
the grass root levels, such as NGOs and
SHGs regarding the positive role they have
to play for the emergence of an inclusive
society. KEDES regularly organizes mass
contact programmes like Jan Vigyan Jatha
covering Panchayats with the support of
DST. In addition to awareness generation,
Jatha strengthens the benefits of Science
and Technology among the rural populace.
The Jatha has different art forms like
Pupetry, Magic Show, Audio-Video
projections and Street plays to reach out to
the masses.
KEDES is also implementing a revolutionary
concept of Legal Literacy Programme by
organizing Dispute Resolution Camps,
Harmony Committees and Public Hearings.
This Programme being a roaring success,
KEDES is now organizing Litigation-free
Panchayat Programme in 100 Panchayats
of Kerala as part of the P.N. Panicker
centenary celebrations.
Litigation-free Panchayat
Practicing of Literacy Through ICT
Financial inclusion through ICT Tele medicine through INSAT connectivity of ISRO
Training programmes through multimedia techniques
Governor of Kerala inaugurating Day of Social Activist on March 1
Jalanidhi Project
KEDES provided pure drinking water to
1141 households of a Panchayat, with
people's participation through the formation
of 43 beneficiary groups, under the World
Bank funded Jalanidhi project initiated by
the Govt. of Kerala. Under this project,
KEDES constructed water tanks, two-pit
toilets and rainwater harvesting tanks and
made water-distribution arrangements for all
households of the Pirayari Panchayat,
Palakkad. The women population of the
panchayat were given ICT training through
IGNOU's programme.
Village Knowledge Centres
In assoc ia t ion wi th P.N. Panicker
Foundation, KEDES launched e-reading
(e-learning) in 2001, to equip school children
as well as rural youth the use of Internet
connectivity for learning and to carry out IT
enabled services. KEDES has established
23 Knowledge Centres in association with
P.N. Panicker Vigyan Vikas Kendra and
NCSTC of Ministry of Science and
Technology. These centres are connected
through a number of grids like education,
healthcare, environment protection, income
generation, e-governance, etc.
also visited Moscow for undertaking training
in the field of publishing. But, I changed my
views. I was quite impressed with the
concept of setting up a number of small
scale village industries initiated by the KVIC.
Later, inspired by my father, I got involved
with the propagation of Khadi and village
industries programmes. Now, I am totally
committed to spend my entire life for rural
upliftment. As far as success is concerned, I
have miles to go before I sleep. The
challenge of poverty alleviation is an
enormous one. Hence, I have to work pretty
hard to address this challenge. I can say
that my success rate so far is only 50
percent.
I have been successful at motivating the
rural poor to form SHGs at the village level.
And, we have also started exporting our
locally manufactured products (like Khadi
and related products, pickles, woodcraft
items fibre products and hand-made paper
products) to provide appropriate monetary
benefits to our artisans for the immense
labour they put in. Our organization is
exporting handicraft items to UK, Germany
a n d M i d d l e E a s t c o u n t r i e s . T h e
commendable aspect of this venture is the
fact that all these products are made by our
rural women.
Q. What is the thrust or direction of your
constructive work initiatives?
Q. What problems are you facing while
setting up rural enterprises?
Q. Which main elements are essential for
setting up a rural enterprise?
We are not getting the desired support from
the banks. Completing all the bureaucratic
formalities for exporting our goods is a big
hurdle and a difficult task. Sales Tax is also
a major problem. In fact, our entire social
structure is very complex. There is no one to
solve the problems of voluntary agencies.
But, now the Government officials are
beginning to understand our problems.
Another big hurdle is the lack of skilled
labour, which affects our production work.
Mahatma Gandhi - Father of our nation had
this dream of creating a strong nation by
strengthening local Panchayats and
village bodies. Integrated development
of the nation is only possible through
strengthening of the village economy. In this
regard, it is essential to ensure the
participation of voluntary organizations in
order to involve the common man in the
development process. This is the main aim
of democracy, and that can only be
achieved through the participation of the
people's organizations. All the agencies
engaged in the development process - civil
society organisations like the NGOs, VOs,
Resident Associations, Ex-servicemen
Bodies, Trade Unions, Youth Organisations,
28 29
The Encounter
h r i N . B a l a g o p a l , s o n o f l a t e
P.N. Panicker, is the present Secretary Sof KEDES. Academically, he is a post-
graduate and has received training in
various fields. He has been engaged in the
Institution's activities for the past 20 years
as a voluntary worker. Shri Balagopal has
been active in social work since his student
days. From his childhood, he has been
influenced by the vision and idealism of his
father. With such an orientation and
motivation, Shri Balagopal is totally
committed to the upli f tment of the
downtrodden and weaker section of the
people. His soul mission in life is to provide
a life of dignity and honour to the common
man through economic and socia l
emancipation.
Presented below are excerpts from his
interview ………
I initiated my career as a publisher. In fact, I
Q. With what mission did you join the
field of social work and how successful
have you been so far in terms of
achieving your objective?
VOICES
programmes conducted by CAPART through
KEDES.”
- Asha
“I wanted to become self-
sufficient in order to have a
respectable status in the
society. So, I acquired
training in 'pickle-making'
which was conducted by KEDES. Now, I
have started making pickles at home and
selling them in the local market. My home-
made pickle is in great demand and I have
sold a lot of pickle during the festival of
Onam. My husband has also joined me in my
pickle business and I have named all my
products after my daughter's name Ruth. I
am extremely grateful to CAPART and
KEDES for proving me this new lease of life.”
- Shiny Rani
“My husband divorced me
soon after our marriage. I
b e c a m e v e r y w e a k
financially. There was no
one to support me. Even my
parents were very poor. So, I visited KEDES
Training Centre and took training in Fabric
Pa in t ing . Now, I am economica l ly
independent as I operate from home and
earn my living through fabric painting on
sarees and other clothes.”
- Lekha
“I used to work as a
household servant and did
not have any fixed income.
Everybody used to look
d o w n u p o n m e . B u t ,
CAPART changed my entire life as I started
earning fifty rupees per day after acquiring
training in horticulture through KEDES.”
- Ramany
“I am really grateful to
CAPART for assisting me
through KEDES. I am now
self-sufficient in economic
t e rms a f t e r r ece i v i ng
training in PRODIP.”
- Sri Kumari
“KEDES has extended me
help in trying times. Such
training programmes must
be conducted all over India
in order to stop migration to
urban areas.”
- Valsamma
“Today, I am totally self-
sufficient and running my
household smoothly. There
is no dearth of money for
our basic amenities. All the
credit for this goes to the various
30
SHGs, etc. should be converged to a
common platform to provide momentum to
rural awakening for panchayat centric
development. The availability of resources is
a must for the long-term sustenance of any
development programme. To achieve this
objective, voluntary organizations should be
accountable for the appropriate utilization of
the Government funds and transparency is
essentials in all transactions.
In our country, the percentage of skilled
labourers is less than ten percent, whereas
it is more than 80 percent in developed
countries. My dream is to prepare the
maximum number of skilled labourers in
order to create a productive atmosphere in
the country. We have already initiated this
process by setting up 1000 Grameen Gyan
Kendras (or Village Knowledge Centres) in
rural India. These Knowledge Centres will
certainly generate awareness in the
common man. Apart from this, our vision is
to sensitize the common man regarding the
micro enterprises throughout the country
and make him a part of this movement.
Knowledge based industries should be
promoted in this era of knowledge economy.
I am positive that this dream would certainly
realize some day.
Q. What are the future plans of your
organization?
Q. What have been the failures of your
organization?
Q. What has been your experience with
CAPART?
Our organization could not include the
common man in the development process in
terms of whole hearted participation. The
rural people are keen to get into a
Government job, whereas our emphasis is
to establish self employable products in
each and every village. This would facilitate
export of rural goods and strengthen the
village economy. Hence, it would take some
time to involve the common man in this
process.
Our experience with CAPART has been
simply excellent. It is one of the main
Government ins t i tu tes engaged in
enhancing the quality of life of the rural
populace of India. I have witnessed that
CAPART has supported many grass root
organizations, which has ignited the spark of
development in many a village. But,
sometimes there is a long delay in
sanctioning the projects. This delay is not a
healthy sign as it lowers the morale and
confidence of the voluntary organizations.
CAPART should propagate its programmes
in a big way so that other organizations
become aware of its development activities.
31
3332
KEDES TEAMFinally
World renowed Human Right activist and
Legal luminary, Justice Krishna Iyer is
giving proper direction and guidance in
carring out the mission of KEDES of
reaching the unreached through education
and development.
The financial assistance provided to
KEDES by CAPART is not a large amount,
but KEDES has done commendable work
with even such a small grant. In fact, more
and more small grants should be provided
by CAPART to NGOs, rather than huge
grants for large projects, for optimum
outputs utilizing the small budget of
CAPART.
As a journalist, I can vouch for the fact that
CAPART is an excellent organization and
KEDES has done remarkable work at the
grassroots level, with CAPART's financial
support, for the upliftment of the needy and
downtrodden masses. KEDES deserves a
special appreciation for its work in the
sphere of Women Empowerment, with
CAPART's assistance.
I n C h a t h n o o r , K E D E S h a s m a d e
tremendous efforts at boosting the morale
and self-confidence of the common woman
of Kerala. CAPART should also provide a
new dimension to its work in this new
environment of continuous changes. The
new training programmes of CAPART,
along with its mass awareness campaigns,
have shown good results. It has generated
livelihoods for the poor and created mass
awareness among the rural folk. CAPART
should assist small organizations for
expansion of its development programmes.
Shiny Rani should be declared the
ambassador of CAPART programmes so
that the whole nation comes to know how
the common poor are benefiting from
CAPART programmes. CAPART must
propagate its successful development
programmes so that the common man has
access to them. KEDES has achieved a
great deal of success in terms of realizing
the primary vision of CAPART pertaining to
Rural Development.
We look forward to your suggestions and comments.
Please write to us at:
Chiranji LalAssistant Director
CAPART(Publication Division)
Zone-V-A (Core C), 2nd Floor, India Habitat CentreLodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Tel.: 2464 2395, Fax: 2464 8607
© CAPART, SEPTEMBER 2008
(Sketch map not to scale)
34
AREA OF OPERATION
KEDESBoard of ManagementThe Board of Management of KEDES controls all activities of the institution and it is the policy making body of KEDES. The present Board of Management is as follows:
No. Name of Members Designation
1. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer ChairmanFormer Judge, Supreme Court of India
2. Shri. C.V. Padmarajan MemberFormer Minister, Govt. of Kerala
3. Shri. T.M. Jacob MemberFormer Minister, Govt of Kerala
4. Shri. P.P. Mukundan Chairman, Sreyas Member
5. Shri. M. Vijayakumar MemberMinister of Law, Govt. of Kerala
6. Shri. Palode Ravi, Ex. MLA MemberMember, National Literacy Mission, Govt. of India
7. Shri. K.P. Kunhikannan, Ex. MLA Member
8. Shri. N. Balagopal Secretary
Executive Chairman, CNRI, New Delhi
9. Shri. K. Ravindranathan Nair MemberIndustrialist, Kollam, Kerala
10. Dr. N.A. Karim MemberFormer Pro Vice Chancellor, Kerala University
11. Shri. E.K. Krishnan Nair Treasurer
Former News Editor, Doordarshan Kendra
GRANTS OVERVIEW
Grants given by CAPART to KEDES
Name of Project Sanctioned Amount Availed Amount
Training cum Production in Wood craft Rs. 3,37,000 Rs. 2,71,900
Construction of 452 low cost houses 71,92,190 NIL
Workshop on Product Development, 1,50,000 1,50,000Designing, Packaging and Marketing
Workshop on Product Development, 2,63,000 New ProjectDesigning, Packaging and Marketing
(All figures are provisional)
Kerala Educational Development and Employment Society (KEDES)
District - Trivandrum-695 014, KeralaPhone: (0471)-2328560, 2332426 Mobile: 09447064944 Fax: (0471) 2322426
Email: [email protected]