Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

‘People’ brand set to storm market

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district mission of the Kudumbasree project is all set to enter the market with a range of products manufactured by women’s self-employment units. To be marketed under the brand name ‘People’, the products include pickles, ‘papad’, diabetic food supplements, curry powder, chips, flour, weaning food for babies and environment-friendly leaf plates.

The mission has tied up with the district panchayat to provide marketing support for the project that is designed to give a fillip to the women’s empowerment programme in the district. Spread across 21 grama panchayats, the manufacturing network provides direct employment to 301 women. The district panchayat is facilitating technology support, packaging and marketing for the products made at the units.

The manufacturing technology has been procured from the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram, and the Kerala Agricultural University.

Kudumbasree district mission coordinator N. Sylakumar said the products would be marketed through the network of Kudumbasree outlets and other shops. He said the ‘People’ project would add strength to the fight against monopolies in the retail sector.

Moves are on to tap the cooperative sector to market the ‘People’ products. The products will also be sold through the network of supermarkets to be set up by the district panchayat exclusively for Kudumbasree products. Two such markets are scheduled to come up at Pattom and Kallambalam.

Mr. Sylakumar said stringent hygiene standards prescribed by the technology providers had been adopted. All the products would be nitrogen-packed at a centralised unit at the World Market, Anayara. A three-layer foil packing would help to improve the shelf life of the contents.

The mission has also inked a contract with an agri business firm to market all the products for a period of three years. The company has agreed to tap the export potential of some of the products. Each unit provides direct employment for 20 women. Members put in Rs.5,000 each as beneficiary share, with Kudumbasree providing a matching loan. The gram panchayats are responsible for providing the infrastructure for the project.

A streamlined system has been envisaged for procurement of raw materials. Some of the materials are directly procured from the paddy and banana farms promoted by the district panchayat under the Kerala Development Programme.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is scheduled to inaugurate the sale of ‘People’ products on March 4. Minister for Local Self-Government Paloli Mohammed Kutty will preside over the function.

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