Kudumbashree volunteers of Choornikara panchayat in Kerala deliver books at homes there to promote reading among women and children

Sunil Kumar KR, the librarian of the Choornikara Panchayat Library, calls 50 women, all members of 250 plus Kudumbashree units of the Panchayat, which has 21 wards, the force behind the success of its Aksharadeepam project. As part of the project, inaugurated in 2023, books from the library are doorstep-delivered to homes in the Panchayat to promote reading among women and children. The books were purchased by ₹1.5 lakh sanctioned by the panchayat for the project. Later on, as word spread, books have also come in via donations. 

The project, which has been part of research projects globally, has garnered attention, is powered by these women whose ages range from 23 to 68. “They are my warriors!” says Sunil, “I just need to ask them to do something and it will be done.” Five of the women volunteers — Athikka Beevi KK, Sherbila MS, Sreeja Mani, Sheela Suresh, and Jalaja Sugunan — smile proudly as they nod enthusiastically in agreement. 

“Sunil sir needs our support to sustain this project and we are determined to ensure its longevity,” they chorus. This is voluntary work, they gain nothing from it except “the joy and satisfaction of getting these books to people who want to read but cannot,” says Jalaja Suseelan, one of the older volunteers. “Often there is so much else also happening in our lives, but we ensure that we make time for this work. We have to,” she adds. 

Although it is an ‘urban’ area, it looks more like a village aspiring to be a small town. The library is located in the same building as the anganwadi, the reading room is on the ground floor while the library is on the first floor. Outside the hall adjacent to the library, on a wall with Aksharadeepam written on it are hung maroon cloth bags. They are numbered, there are around 40 of these. “These were the first bags, which could fit 10 books, the number that we distributed initially. We have now resorted to larger bags for our quota of 17 books,” says Sheela Suresh. A dedicated WhatsApp group keeps the Aksharadeepam team in the loop about activities. Besides this, the Library organises enrichment activities for these volunteers as encouragement apart from commemorative mementos. 

The volunteers with Sunil Kumar KR, the librarian
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Armed with their white bags, which is then packed in a smart jute tote, filled with books which include fiction and non-fiction, for women and children, and the odd-book that would help Public Service Commission (PSC) examination aspirants these volunteers go about distributing these to 1000 homes in the panchayat.  

“This is our Sunday activity, come rain or shine we are here to return and collect fresh books to distribute,” says Athikka Beevi, one of the volunteers gathered there. On the first Sunday of the month the bags are exchanged, as each bag has a different combination of books, all Malayalam for now. 

There are 55 sets of books or ‘kits’ as they are colloquially referred to. The choice of books is driven by practical considerations, the main one being that they cannot be thick, “this can be intimidating for those who have to “make” time to read. There is no point lending inaccessible books when the whole point is to get people to read,” says Sunil. 

Sreeja adds, “The books would just sit in the homes, possibly extending the date of return. Fat books will not be read, slim ones have a better chance of being read.” Mostly fiction, the works of Malayalam authors such as Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, OV Vijayan, Anand, Benyamin, KR Meera, Santosh Echikanam and others make up the ‘kits’. “There have been enquiries from our younger readers for English books. We plan to include those in the near future, we want people to read and if books in English will keep it going, so be it,” adds Sunil. This library model has been part of international journals and publications such as the        

What started out as a project for 100-odd houses has now grown to 1000 houses: 4000-odd people. Starting out, Sunil says, his expectations were modest, if it worked, well and good. He credits the volunteers, themselves avid readers, for the success of the project and for how far the Aksharadeepam project has come. The plan, initially, targeted Kudumbashree members, however as word spread interest grew. Others who were not part of Kudumbashree evinced an interest leading it to spread among locals.

“We also like reading, so we understand the value of books and having them brought to us. Reading is not simple for women — we have house work, take care of the home and children, which barely leaves us with any time to read, let alone go to a library,” says Sreeja. 

The volunteers were chosen after four levels of screening, from the unit level of Kudumbashree to panchayat officials. They were also chosen for their interest in reading, “this is a voluntary activity, it cannot be sustained if someone were to do it for the money. The volunteers have to be self-motivated also for this to work,” Sunil says. 

“We understand the value of this activity. We have, each of us, wanted to read but did not have access to them or a library. We did not have a facility such as this, going to a library was out of the question,” adds Jalaja. For this reason, they say, they are committed to the project to see it through. 

For the volunteers this work is validation. The library recently organised an event to celebrate reaching books to the 700 houses. “The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, AN Shamseer sir, was the chief guest. We were given mementos by him for this work…It felt so good to be acknowledged, to have one’s work appreciated. This would not have happened if we did not do this work,” say Sreeja and Sherbila. 

Published – January 30, 2026 03:39 pm IST