Thiruvananthapuram: After scripting a saga of women empowerment and poverty eradication in Kerala, the Kudumbasree Mission has taken up the cause of the transgenders. The mission has formed as many as 21 exclusive neighbourhood groups comprising 274 transgenders.
The mission will help the members of these groups to find means of livelihood by starting micro enterprises. Each group will be granted a corpus fund of Rs 10,000. Any transgender aged 18 or above can join these groups.
Though the mission insists on 10 to 20 members to form a group, the condition has been lowered in the case of the transgenders. District coordinators of the mission can use their discretionary powers to give approval to the formation of the groups.
Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode district have three groups each for the transgenders, while Kollam, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Malappuram have two each. Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts have one group each.
The novel initiative has already led to the launch of 12 micro enterprises for the transgenders which will allow them to be financially independent like the poor women attached to the Kudumbasree. The enterprises range from vegetable sales to dance training.
Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts have three micro enterprises each, while Pathanamthitta has two. Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Malappuram districts have one each.
A dozen enterprises
The Kannur group has started a chips manufacturing unit named Nicy at Anakkulam. Members of the Nanma neighbourhood group make five different kinds of chips including banana chips. They sell 2,000 kilograms of chips a month on average.
The group is run by Sandhya, Sona, Sneha, Maya, Soumini, Aparna, Jasmin, Reema Satheesan, Sanana and Laisa.
Their counterparts in Kozhikode have come together to run juice stalls at various fair grounds. The Punarjani Juice Corner run by Monisha, Shamna, Aleena and Varsha ensures each of them at least Rs 10,000 per month. They earned thrice that amount when they sold juice at the venue of the state school arts festival.
Their venture sells juice worth Rs 80,000 a month on average. The four-member group has plans to set up a permanent sales counter at the district collector’s office.
They have a model to emulate in Ernakulam. Three members of a transgender neighbourhood group in the district has set up the Lakshya Fruits and Juice Corner on the premises of the Ernakulam district collectorate.
The juice stall has a revenue of Rs 70,000 a month on average. Amrita, Anamika and Sabitha also run another juice stall and an ornament manufacturing unit near the NGO quarters at Kakkanad.
Novel ideas
The Kudumbasree has helped five transgenders in Wayanad by offering them a chance to open a vegetable sales outlet in association with the Brahmagiri Society. They plan to sell vegetables and food products made at various Kudumbasree units in the district.
The Pathanamthitta has two transgender neighbourhood groups. The groups at Pandalam and Kodumon have started their own micro enterprises.
The Koduman group of five people has started a dance school. The school run by Shyama Prasad, Rahul Raj, Prasad, Sunil Kumar and Aravind has four students now. The dancers expect the school to boost the art scene in the district.
The Pandalam unit is in a related business. The unit offers dance costumes and ornaments for rent.
The Malappuram unit runs a shop called Spectra Boutique. The Alappuzha unit of the Kudumbasree Mission has formed three groups with novel ideas. The Dhwani, Friends and Bharathakala groups, with five members each, are into the business of presenting traditional art forms at cultural rallies and temple festivals.
Expanding market
Apart from helping the transgenders organise themselves and start business units, the Kudumbasree Mission is also helping them to find a market for their products and services. The Nicy Chips of Kannur and the Punarjani Juice Corner of Kozhikode are regularly take part in Saras festivals and food festivals across the state. They have also offered their products at festivals organised in Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Transgenders in Kochi were earlier offered jobs with the Kochi Metro through the Kudumbasree facility management centre. As many as 14 transgenders work with the Metro, said the executive director of the Kudumbasree.
