Based on the understanding that the onset of malnutrition begins much before the child reaches 3 years after soon after weaning and a closer look at child nutrition-related indicators from field visits made us realize that a program for children under 3 years was much needed to fulfill their nutritional needs and also to provide early childhood education and stimulation. This led to the Phulwari (creche) program for young children. The main objective of Phulwari is to provide a safe, secure, and stimulating environment for young children of 6 months to 3 years of age when their parents are out at work, to demonstrate to mothers that older infants (beyond 6 months) can consume and digest food other than breast milk and that they thrive on it, to prevent malnutrition among this age group and to improve the nutritional status of children who are malnourished. The indirect benefit of having a Phulwari in a village is that older siblings of the children who attend Phulwari can go to school instead of staying back and taking care of their siblings. There will be an increase in parent income as they can now go to work all weekdays. The program is functional and currently has over 100 Phulwaris. 

The response to the creches has been largely positive, as parents feel that it answers one of their main needs- that of child care- when they have to go out to work. With the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ( NREGA) and also intensive agriculture work, the demand for creches has increased, as more parents are absent from their homes for most of the day. By providing a safe place for children, parents no longer have to take their children with them to the fields, where they are exposed to heat, sun, and dust, and where food and water are in short supply. In addition, several children who had dropped out of school to take care of their siblings have returned to school after the creche facility has been made available in their village.

• Community-based prevention and management of malnutrition: The community is involved in the process from the very beginning. A community meeting is conducted to establish the Phulwari based on the number of children below 3 years of age. In this community meeting, the benefits of Phulwari are discussed with the people and they are asked to select a place for locating the Phulwari. A person from the community who is suitable for the role of Phulwari worker is nominated by the community. Once the Phulwari is established in a ‘tola’ or hamlet, Phulwari supervisors and workers keep in touch with the community members through regular parent’s meetings and community meetings. This intense community engagement is the key to letting the community and especially parents understand the nutritional needs of children and it helps improve feeding, hygiene, and caring practices at home as well. Journeys of Phulwari workers have been a success story in the program. 
• An intervention serving to most marginalized communities: Phulwari caters to the most marginalized tribal rural communities, mostly Gond and Baiga. Majority of the people in the area engaged in farming for their livelihood, followed by labor. Farming is mostly single-crop farming as the farmlands are not irrigated and mainly depend upon the monsoon for irrigation. Most of the children coming to Phulwari belong to BPL households.
• Employment generation and women empowerment: All the field staff is recruited from the local community. Many of the Phulwari workers ( all women) have either had no schooling or have completed primary education. JSS has trained them to run the Phulwari on their own and has provided them with an opportunity to earn their livelihood and become economically independent. 6 supervisors and 75 Phulwari workers are working with JSS at Pushprajgarh block. The number of earning days of mothers whose children attend Phulwari has also increased.
• A supplementary intervention to the ICDS program, Filling the gaps: Phulwari intervention is a supplement to the ICDS program as it caters to children from 6 months to 3 years. This group of children does not get daily assistance and nutrition at Anganwadi as they are catered with take-home rations. These children are provided with warmth care and nutrition at Phulwari.