S P Jain Institute of Management & Research

Socio-Economic Development of Talikulam Village, Kerala

Talikulam Vikas Trust has been working for the socio-economic development of Talikulam Village in Kerala through its various activities such as providing employment to local women through its garment factory, providing interest free loans through Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) formed by trust to encourage self-employment amongst the women in village etc. The 5 member student team who took a 6 week project with this organisation has identified that the garment manufacturing unit, which is currently employing 68 local women, was unable to provide minimum wages as per trust’s expectations. Secondly, through a survey, they found out that the Rs.13 million loans issued to the 360 WAGs for promoting self-employment was being used for consumption purpose. So the major problems identified were
1)      To improve the productivity & profit of garment unit so as to provide at least a defined minimum wages to the employees.
2)      To define a model for actively engaging members & improving the income generation of WAGs.
Students analyzed these problems comprehensively and proposed viable solutions to the Trust. For identifying the root cause of low productivity and frequent absenteeism in garment unit, they conducted Quantitative analysis, Time study, Benchmarking study and Interviews with employees. Suggestions for corrective actions which will lead to a 40% increase in efficiency were proposed. Improvised costing method was suggested for proper cost identification enabling negotiation with buyers. Change management techniques were suggested for smooth transition of garment unit to Rural Apparel Park, which is being established with the help of Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) at a total expense of Rs. 53.5 million. The park is expected to provide employment to around 500 people directly and 500 indirectly.
To study WAGs, project team conducted interview with 72 group members and studied their demographic profile and identified the issues in business model resulting in existing inefficiencies. They came out with a new model with plans for creating a Common Facility Centre which will cater to needs such as centralized procurement, cluster formation, branding the products and training needs. This is estimated to lead to a 20-25% increase in income generated and will ensure active involvement of all the members in WAGs.

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