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| Fr.Johnson Panketh, C/o Kottappuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS), Kottappuram 680667 |
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As someone from this village, he had known the woes of the women struggling to earn a pittance making mats using screw pine. And so when he came back as a priest to Kottappuram, Fr.Johnson Panketh wanted to do something to ameliorate their lot.
Engaging an expert designer from Delhi, he arranged to train 15 women with aptitude in designing work. Later these 15 became master trainers who imparted training to others. And thus at the end of 10 years, 3500 women now work in 200 self-help groups to produce screw pine mats and other products. In addition to mats, they make table mats, cushions, bag, box, files, waste basket etc.
The Kottappuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS), which coordinates their work makes arrangement to deliver the raw material to the houses of these women, if they so desire. In addition, hundreds of women work in the KIDS campus and the training centre nearby from morning till evening.
There is good demand for the screw pine products made by these women. Besides taking part in exhibitions conducted in major cities of India, they export it abroad also. In fact, they say that the demand is such that even with such large participation of women workers, they aren’t able to meet it.
Screw pine product is only one of the schemes under KIDS. Fr. Panketh has initiated another venture, this time for the graduate studies of the children of these women workers. The Jnana Deepa Vidya Peetam, a self-financing college started in the premises of KIDS imparts courses like MBA, MCA, M.Sc(IT), B.Com, BCA, BBA etc. The college, which gives preference to the poor locals of the area, will herald the triumphant story of the women workers to the world, feel the KIDS.
Courtesy: LS, Kanyaka, November 30, 2003
Contributed by: Administrator
