KOZHIKODE: After 17 successful years of implementing various schemes to eradicate poverty and empower women in Kerala, the Kudumbashree mission is all set to sail across the sea.
In a first, it has got an invitation to participate in the globally recognized Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) scheduled to be held in December.
“Our handicraft items and an array of exquisite articles that come under the scheme ‘charutha’ will be showcased at the global village in the DSF,” said Executive Director of the mission, K.B Valsalakumari.
Besides, Kudumbashree women will woo foreign and Indian customers with mouth watering ethnic Kerala cuisine thereby ushering in a bigger market space and branding of the body abroad.
The invitation to participate in DSF came after a two-week-long trip of a 36-member Kudumbashree contingent to Dubai and Abu Dhabi which ended on April 20.
The team, comprising 28 selected women from 10 districts, two chefs and six officials participated at the Gulf Kerala fest, organized in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“We got overwhelming responses from both the cities. There was a huge demand for our ethnic food items like green shell mussel, tapioca and sardine curry, pathiri, herbal juices, payasam etc,” elaborated mission state programme officer, (organization and training) T. Shahul Hameed, who was part of the team.
Along with this, the mission has approached the union government to sanction the international licence to trade its products. Currently, Kudumbashree boasts of nearly 100 multiple products.
