Some 20 sex workers in this Kerala town have given up the profession and are now making a living by running a laundry service and gathering waste, all thanks to the efforts of an NGO.

It all began in 2001, when close to 40 sex workers aged between 35 and 45 formed a small group called Swaruma that now does the laundry at a local hospital and gathers waste in and around Muvattupuzha, keeping the bustling town near Kochi spick and span.

The group is backed by the Resource Centre for Training and Counselling (RCTC), a project of the Kerala State AIDS Control Society.

Shefeena Vinovin, the livewire behind RCTC, said it took her close to two years to get the 40 sex workers together.

"First it was my need to prove that something could be done for these hapless women and it took me more than a year to convince them. Once that was done, a major portion of the work was over," Vinovin, the manager of RCTC, told IANS.

The first helping hand came from the Muvattupuzha municipality, which supported Swaruma, and then came financial help from the Bank of India, which advanced the women a loan of Rs.50,000 to start a laundry unit.

Kudumbasree, the state government agency that supports self-help women's groups, also chipped in with a grant of Rs.50,000.

"In a matter of three years, these women now have just Rs.15,000 left to repay to the bank. And today every member of the group earns close to Rs.1,500 a month," said Vinovin.

Of the 40 sex workers in the group, 20 have left the world's oldest profession, but the others return at times to make quick money.

"See, for some of them the urge for sex and quick money is there. Some of them say that they can earn as much money in a day or two as they earn here in a month," said Vinovin.

"We felt it is no point to compel them. But the one positive aspect is that they are now conscious of practicing safe sex and using condoms."

Apart from the hard work they do at Muvattupuzha, the women today act as counsellors, identifying other sex workers, distributing condoms and telling them about the need for practising safe sex.

"We feel that this has helped because not a single one of the nearly 200 sex workers that we work with in and around Muvattupuzha are HIV positive, whereas we have come across several others in the profession who are outside our project and have been affected by the disease," said Vinovin.