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: kedesindia@yahoo.com