Skills Training Report for Integrated Child Development Service Centres (ICDS)

In collaboration with Sempulam Sustainable Solutions, Chennai Resilience Centre (CRC) distributed kitchen garden kits to homeless shelters and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) centres within the jurisdiction of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), as a part of the Chennai Urban Farming Initiative (CUFI). This initiative is being implemented in partnership with Tamil Nadu ICDS and Greater Chennai Corporation’s Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) Initiative to improve access to nutritious food and the general health and well-being of vulnerable communities. The kitchen garden kits, arranged through Sempulam Sustainable Solutions, are an all-inclusive package with grow bags, soil mixture, vermicompost, neem oil soap and vegetable and green vegetable seeds.

A skill-based training session was organised for 66 Anganwadi workers and 15 ICDS block coordinators at the Anbagam shelter for mentally challenged on 9th March 2022 and the Madras Seva Sadan on 10th March 2022 and 11th March 2022, and between 2 pm and 5 pm.

In January 2022, 75 centres received mobile vegetable garden kits and a virtual training session was held for the respective teachers. However, it was felt that an in-person training would be more impactful and was thus organised in March for all the 75 teachers and 16 block coordinators. The objective of the session was to provide the participants with hands-on training on the maintenance of gardens, to discuss and provide solutions for any garden issues the centres might have. The programme was conducted by Mr Subramaniyam from Sempulam and facilitated by CRC.