The Hindu : Scripting a success story

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 29, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Scripting a success story

By K.P. Pushparaj

KASARAGOD, JAN. 28. Twentyfive-year-old Koleth Fousia was just an ordinary housewife till mid-2002. But an advertisement of the Khadi and Village Industries inviting applications from enterprising women to start self-employed business under its Margin Money scheme changed all that.

Now a member of the Saphalyam Kudumbasree unit at Thrikkaripur panchayat in Kasaragod district, Ms. Fousia is running an Internet café in her house besides being the official photographer of as many as 20 Kudumbasree units in her home district and the nearby Malappuram district. The pardha-clad woman is now engaged in documenting the various activities of the Kudumbasree units using her modern digital camera.

Ms. Fousia's story as an entrepreneur has few parallels. Inspired by her husband, V.P. Mustafa, who runs an electronic shop in their home panchayat, Ms. Fousia responded to the advertisement and sought the assistance of the Khadi and Village Industries to start an Internet café in her house. Being a novel and feasible idea, there was no hesitation on the part of the sponsors. Trained in MS Office and DTP, it was a break for Ms. Fousia. With a subsidy of Rs. 27,000 from the Khadi and Village Industries and a loan from the North Malabar Gramin Bank, she set up the café with two personal computers with all accessories, including a webcam at her house.

Mother of two daughters, Ms. Fousia was not ready to settle down with an in-house employment. The evolution of Kudumbasree units in her panchayat set a perfect opening for the entrepreneur in the young woman. Joining the 18-member-strong Saphalyam was a path-breaking event in her life. She was not ready to be content with pickle-making or garment manufacturing. And Ms. Fousia is now the only professional woman photographer in the district.

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