KANNUR: Born out of the struggles of the beedi workers of Malabar, Kerala Dinesh — India’s first worker-owned cooperative society — is scripting a bold new chapter with the adoption of artificial intelligence.
Having diversified into sectors including apparel and information technology, the cooperative has launched Wild Watch, an AI-powered surveillance system aimed at curbing the human-wildlife conflict in Palakkad and Wayanad districts.
The system is designed to issue early alerts to the forest department’s rapid response teams (RRTs) and local residents when wild animals approach human settlements.
It features an automatic siren that activates to deter animals, which are tracked in real time using distributed acoustic sensing technology. This allows for timely intervention, improving safety for both humans and wildlife.
The cameras installed in forest zones can also be controlled remotely from a dedicated observation centre at the Palakkad forest division office. “With incidents of human-wildlife conflict rising in the state, we believe the Wild Watch initiative can play a vital role in mitigation. Our animal-sensing AI system sends out alarms and WhatsApp messages to warn both officials and locals of wildlife intrusions. The project started with a trial run in Wayanad and Palakkad. Soon, it will be implemented in other districts as well,” Kerala Dinesh chairman M K Dinesh Babu told TNIE.
In addition to Wild Watch, Kerala Dinesh is venturing into other AI-driven initiatives. One such project is Vigyana, a generative AI-based software designed to assist researchers in drafting academic papers. The software has been submitted for the state government’s approval. Another proposal under consideration includes an AI-simulation tool to support skill development and interview preparation for professional students. These are among the first AI solutions to emerge from the country’s cooperative sector.
Plan to set up drone training centre
The cooperative is also planning to set up a drone training centre, with courses accredited by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
“It’s been 54 years since Kerala Dinesh was founded. We began as a cooperative for beedi workers. But by the 1990s, due to the anti-tobacco movement, the beedi industry declined. Still, we couldn’t abandon our workers. That’s when we decided to diversify,” Dinesh Babu said.
“Today, our operations span apparel, umbrellas, IT, food, and beedi production. Among these, we are now focusing heavily on the IT sector,” he added.
Kerala Dinesh is also making significant progress in the field of core banking. It now offers cost-effective, secure solutions to financial institutions through an international-standard data centre. Several leading cooperative banks have deployed its core banking software, and development is underway for features such as ATM services, mobile banking, RTGS, NEFT, internet banking, and the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).