Thiruvananthapuram: After its success saga in various fields from pickle making to IT business, Kerala's women Self Help Group Kudumbashree is planning to foray into the construction sector.
To start with, a Kudumbashree unit has embarked on a plan to build a ' tribal village" at Edakkattuvayal in Ernakulam district.
A company called "Kudumbashree Constructions" is to be registered soon to take up the work.
ll its employees, from engineers to masons, will be women, which will be one of the very few such ventures in the world.
Paperwork for the registration of the company is under progress and the first assignment of the team is to construct a village for a select group of tribals in Ernakulam district, a top Kudumbashree official said.
"We have already left a mark in various fields. Now we are stepping into a new area. Kudumbashree's construction company will not only provide employment for women, but also prove a solution for increasing shortage of skilled workers," Kudumbashree Executive Director K B Valsala Kumari told PTI.
s many as 220 Kudumbashree volunteers, with distinct qualifications and skills, have already been imparted training in various construction related works, she said.
"Our first work, a village for tribals, is planned at Edakkattuvayal near Kochi. The project is envisaged for rehabilitating 87 tribal families living in the fringes of the district who have no land or house of their own," she said.
Though the plot allotted to the project is barren, 'Kudumbashree' plans to convert it into a complete 'green' village with eco-friendly houses, biogas plants and vegetable orchards.
The engineers of Kudumbashree Construction will also bake eco-friendly bricks, using soil of the place for construction.
Each house will have kitchen and terrace gardens. One biogas plant each will be set up for a unit of 10 houses. Anganwadies and trading shops to market and sell agricultural and other products made by tribals are also on cards.
number of agencies including COSTFORD, a non-profit making voluntary organisation specialising in cost-effective architecture, the state Scheduled Tribes Development Department and Agricultural Department have offered support to the venture.
Valsala Kumari said the tribals to be rehabilitated in the village would be shifted to the site during the time of construction and their suggestions would be sought.