Naga clans script success in conserving biodiversity

Community-managed conservation practiced for over two decades by the Angami Naga tribe of Khonoma village near the state capital of Kohima has improved biodiversity and forest resources

Agripreneurs can revive smallholder agriculture

Encouraging community service providers to function as agripreneurs is an effective and proven way to improve the lives of smallholder farmers by increasing agricultural productivity

Malabar women raise their voice against triple talaq

Women at the receiving end of triple talaq divorce pronouncements in the Malabar region of Kerala have stood up to their rights but have faced dire consequences. Their hopes are now pinned on the new law

Education gives Paromita hope for a better future

The story of Paromita Mondal, a teenage girl living in rural Bengal, is testimony to the fact that the efforts of government and development organizations to retain girls in school have slowly started bearing results

  • Nov 09, 2018
  • South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

Debts drive breadbasket farmers to daily wage labor

With farm income failing to keep pace with their debts, a large number of small and marginal farmers in Punjab and Haryana have started supplementing household earnings through daily wage labor

Chamarkhani shoemakers persist through declining demand

Despite stiff competition, a group of traditional shoemakers living in a village near Patna have held on to their craft, creating Chamarkhani jutas, the once well-known handmade leather shoes

Assamese women thrive on value-added garden produce

By supplying value-added products made from fresh fruits and vegetables grown in their backyards, women in villages of Assam’s Nagaon district have become financially independent

Rural crime and policing in India’s villages

Even as crime in rural India increases, particularly against marginalized communities, minorities and women, more effective policing is required to strengthen deterrence and enforce rule of law

Sinnar farmers breathe life back into irrigated farming

By collectively reviving a colonial-era irrigation system, farmers in 19 villages of Sinnar in Maharashtra have transformed a water-starved area into productive and prosperous farmlands

Can agriculture be profitable and sustainable?

While commercialization of agriculture has led to an increase in profits in South Asia – a region marred by poverty and child malnutrition – short-term benefits may hide long-term risks

#MeToo movement yet to reach rural India

Although women routinely suffer sexual harassment at work in villages, the stranglehold of patriarchy and the scepter of social shaming hold them back from voicing their outrage and seeking redress

Community school shines beacon of hope in Surguja hills

Thwarted livelihood opportunities after giving up their land to mining companies hasn’t stopped a disadvantaged community in the remote Surguja hiils of Chhattisgarh to run a school for tribal and Dalit children

Next-gen Kashmir farmers turn to water wisdom

A new generation of Kashmiri farmers are adapting to extreme weather events such as more frequent droughts by creating water harvesting infrastructure to irrigate their land

Revive traditional wisdom for healthy life in villages

India has a rich heritage of local health traditions and reviving these diverse ethno-medical practices could ensure long and healthy lives for people in the countryside without spending huge amounts of money

Skill training empowers girls, raises hope for gender parity

Skill development trainings are not only helping rural communities fight poverty in Assam but are also empowering girls to aspire big, overcoming challenges posed by social stigma and deep-rooted gender disparity

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