Strengthening participatory governance
The PRI-CBO Convergence project aims at strengthening participatory governance by creating platforms where constitutionally mandated panchayats work together with community based organizations. Kudumbashree NRO has been consciously engaging CBOs by increasing their capability to demand entitlements with the idea that a democratically conscious community will ensure effective service delivery by local government institutions. The project’s role in capacitating both Community Based Organizations (CBO) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) has resulted in building a symbiotic relationship where both the institutions work together for their village’s development. The approach has led to strengthening of women’s participation in local governance and a more responsive panchayati raj system.
Improving rural livelihoods
The Enterprise promotion project focuses on improving rural livelihoods by nurturing an eco-system for encouraging entrepreneurship activities and sustaining rural micro-enterprises. Through the project, Kudumbashree NRO strives to develop strategies to increase rural entrepreneurship and promote local economic development. Rural entrepreneurship being integral to poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods, the project envisages the establishment of a mechanism where in SHGs and their federations are made capable to drive enterprise development initiatives. It entails developing local resource pools through training and mentoring who are then equipped to provide market driven solutions to entrepreneurs.
Fostering innovations
The work carried out by Kudumbashree NRO is also influenced by the need to nurture innovations among the rural community. Many of the innovations introduced in partner states have been the direct result of its proven success in Kerala. Interventions like Balasabha- a democratic platform for children to participate in their development and GSLP- a self-learning program where women are encouraged to discuss about gender and its manifestations in their lived experiences have been implemented under convergence in states like Karnataka and Rajasthan. Whereas Beacon pilot initiatives based on successful models from Kerala like monthly markets, Café Kudumbashree and Nutrimix have been implemented in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jharkhand. Such innovations strengthen the ecosystem of local community and can be an effective driving force for social and economic progress.
Sharing best practices
Kudumbashree-NRO has actively shared its good practices with other organisations since its inception. The process is facilitated by creating good practices database that connects people with information and learning mechanisms connecting people with people. Our commitment to knowledge sharing is demonstrated by the extensive exposure visits organized for various stakeholders, national workshops organised and participated in, publications it has produced for the dissemination of its concepts as well as tools and practices for a global audience.
Providing Professional Support
KS-NRO’s efforts in partner states is backed by a strong team of professionals and mentors who provide support involving multidisciplinary effort. It has selected and placed resource persons with several years of experience of working with Kudumbashree as Mentors in partner-States. Their work is coordinated by professionals selected from reputed educational institutions who provide back-end support and manage the overall activities of the state under each domain. An integrated work process comprising of monitoring, reporting and handholding system to coordinate the efforts geographically is put in place.