KSS believes in creating an enabling environment for economic equality and strengthening employment options. It is helping women discover such livelihood options that cater to their needs and aspirations in a safe environment while being flexible enough to allow them the time and space to fulfil their responsibilities as home makers. Such options are inherently structured around control over local resources and a promotion of innate skills. The organisation plays a key role in development of new skills, qualitative enhancements of traditional skills, value additions to native crafts, development of management and marketing skills and establishment of market linkages. The long term impacts of this approach have been that as women become economically self sufficient, they have a greater role in decision making within their families and communities, are able to lead a life of dignity and migration is arrested.

The organisation has focussed on the Self Help Group model to promote livelihood options. This model draws on the innate saving habit of women and relies on the sense of mutual help for success. It keeps women from the clutches of usurious money lenders and also promotes judicious use of money. The SHGs that the organisation has supported are not graded according to the level of credit raised, thereby fostering a sense of equality among them. The impulse is for women to seek their own genius as a means of empowerment.

Over the years the organisation has partnered with various donor and government agencies to promote SHGs, provide training and enable women to set up small industries that are operated and managed by them while being linked to financial institutions. Some of these partnerships have been with DRDA, WCD, NABARD, FYF UK, the Textile Ministry of the Government of India, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology etc. Marketing opportunities have been found through national and international trade fairs, local fairs, exhibitions and by exploring CSR possibilities in various corporate entities.

Livelihood opportunities have been created around gulal making, goatery, poultry, mushroom farming, agriculture, weaving and handicrafts. While seeking livelihood opportunities for themselves, women SHG members have also acted as catalysts for change in their families and villages- challenging social norms, participating in local decision making, voicing their opinions in PRIs, participating in School Management Committees etc. and the like- thus leading to overall betterment of their families and communities. The robust SHGs have also been peer teachers for SHGs across the states and even across the border with officials from Nepal’s Agricultural Department also having visited them in the 2015 to study their functioning. The SHGs are self sustaining with the women being invited by various universities including the Pantnagar Institute and agricultural institutions as peer educators.

So far the project has helped create 350 SHGs with 30,000 women members spread across 10 districts in two states. Of the 1,800 women who have been trained under various partnerships so far, 70 are now master trainers for government led livelihood programmes. The SHGs have had a combined saving of Rs 1 crore and a loan return rate of 90%.