Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

they are able to do it, is another question. But the IPP project seems to have converted the
rural health centers into centers for contraception and gynecological practices. The perks
of the State Literacy Mission authority is another group. All the Panchayats have a
number of Saksharatha Kendras, with a prerak, assistant prerak in each centre, assisted by
a number of voluntary workers, and the most important is the agency called chalanam
being organized by Rabiya, a handicapped neo-literate from Vellanikkad in Tirurangadi.
Chalanam has centers all over the field area. Most of the Saksharatha Kendras are facing
serious difficulties because of lack of adequate support from the Government, but despite
these difficulties many Saksharatha preraks continue to run the centers and conduct adult
education. They are doing yeoman service for a number of social activities, particularly
in the Panchayat level programmes.
Probably inspired by the success of the literacy activities, the present Government
introduced the Akshaya Computer Literacy project, for imparting computer literacy to at
least one member in every family. The coordinators of the Akshaya project in the field
area are those with experience in Literacy projects, and they are enlisting a number of
young people who have had computer training for taking classes in various centers. Since
the emphasis is to get at least one computer literate from each household, a number of old
men and women are being enlisted as students. The actual impact of this programme is
yet to be studied.
Probably more interesting is the emergence of a number of self-help groups under the
CDS programme (kutumbasree) of the Kerala Government. We were able to see the
functioning of self-help groups in different parts of the field area. Even as we were
walking through the area, Munniyur Panchayat was recruiting the maximum number of
women into self-help groups. There are about forty eight self help groups registered in
Munniyur Panchayat alone, and other Panchayats have also a number of self help groups.
Many of these groups seemed to be functioning as credit units, and become active