Himachal’s organic farmers turn market-savvy

Collective representation helps smallholder organic farmers in Himachal’s Mandi district sell their produce directly to consumers in Delhi at a premium price, increasing their earnings

Custard apple thrives in Maharashtra’s dryland farms

Switching from traditional crops, farmers in rain-shadow areas of Maharashtra have found that growing custard apple suited for varied soil and climatic conditions is highly remunerative

Bamboo eliminates poverty among Wayanad villagers

Impoverished villages in Kerala’s Wayanad have found green gold in bamboo handicrafts and utility products, which have helped eliminate poverty and given them a regular source of income

Diversified organic farming can transform Marathwada

Smallholder women farmers in the climate-threatened Marathwada region of Maharashtra are ensuring nutritional security and additional income for their families through diversified organic agriculture

India needs poverty fighters to boost rural incomes

Ending endemic economic poverty in the central and eastern parts of rural India needs more numbers of trained foot soldiers to deal with the complex realities on the ground

Stigmatized Lodha tribe starts new life trajectory

Education and sports have helped the Lodhas, a particularly vulnerable tribal community that was forced to lead an excluded life because they were stigmatized as thieves, to increasingly join the mainstream

Families along Brahmaputra lose land to river erosion

Having lost homesteads and farmlands to river erosion, Assam’s farmers living in makeshift camps seek government intervention, even as state administration tries to rework a rehabilitation scheme announced in 2015

Adivasis in Rajasthan demand better local governance

Villagers, especially women, are questioning panchayat institutions being used as tools to push government agenda that do not necessarily align with their needs, and want better local governance

Bengal fishermen face livelihood quandary

Bottom trawling in banned near-shore areas has been destroying marine ecosystems, affecting traditional fishermen, and forcing some to work in those very trawlers to earn a living

Rural women place Sujini embroidery on global map

Craftswomen of Bihar have tailored Sujini, a traditional embroidery once practiced for internal use, to suit modern needs, lending it an international appeal

Can a pointed pickaxe pierce a pearl?

There are formidable challenges in delivering welfare services to scattered and disenfranchised groups of people in rural India, and the government machinery is ill-equipped to deal with it

Farmers repurpose bore wells for rainwater harvesting

With abandoned bore wells turning hazardous for children, farmers in Tamil Nadu are on a voluntary drive to convert them into rainwater harvesting structures

Gond children learn to conserve forests

With their forests degrading for a variety of reasons, Gond elders are rekindling interest about forest biodiversity among the younger generation, and are inspiring villagers to protect the forests

Kachchh pastoralists struggle as grasslands shrink in Gujarat

Pastoralists from Kachchh walk great distances in search of grazing lands for their sheep in Gujarat, even as pastures disappear or become inaccessible, and climate patterns get ever more erratic

Sinnar farmers switch to multi-cropping for resilient earnings

Growing a variety of crops in different portions of a field, farmers in Nashik district have improved soil health and productivity, reduced diseases and seed-to-sale time, and boosted revenue

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