Musahars overcome fear, but face a long road ahead

Tired of being denied basic human rights and held to be untouchables, Musahars in some villages of Varanasi district are speaking up with help from community activists, but a decent livelihood is still far away

Organic farming gathers steam in the Sundarbans

Faced with longer and hotter summers, many farmers in the Sundarbans have embraced organic farming with local crop varieties that are better adapted to a changing climate and fetch adequate returns as well

Mountain women live and work with bent backs

The absence of most men and the nature of work in the farm and forest have left women in Mandal village of Uttarakhand with no option to spend most of their time with bent over double, which severely damages their health

Bahurupi folk theater finds few takers in West Bengal

The Bahurupis of West Bengal, who donned greasepaint and entertained the rural masses through folk and street theater by masquerading as mythological characters, have dwindled in numbers due to lack of patronage

People with disabilities languish across rural India

Although there are 27 million people in India with disabilities, of which more than 70% live in villages, they are a neglected segment of the population despite pious intentions mouthed by the central and state governments

Women bear brunt of poor healthcare in rural Kashmir

Healthcare infrastructure is poor in rural areas of Kashmir, and it particularly affects the women, who have to rush to Srinagar to get proper medical attention, as there is a dire shortage of gynecologists in the districts

Odisha’s seasonal hostels help curb child migration and child labor

Poor villagers in Odisha’s migration-prone districts, who toil at brick kilns in the southern states for most part of the year, have found some succor in seasonal hostels that educate and nourish their children in a safe haven

Does targeted finance help farm widows break free of chronic debt?

While targeted assistance has brought financial inclusion to farm widows in parts of Telangana, only concrete interventions can eradicate chronic indebtedness and ensure sustainable livelihoods

How villagers in Poi breathed life back into a forest

In an extraordinary tale of community managed ecological restoration, the residents of Poi village near Kalyan in Maharashtra adopted a degraded forest and turned it into a lush haven of biodiversity

Brass smiths of Parev brave hardships to keep traditional craft alive

Despite lack of essential infrastructure, no government support and highly erratic power supply, artisanal brass utensil makers in Bihar have overcome huge odds and flourished, providing livelihoods to many rural households

The grey and grim hues of rural India

In travelling to the less fortunate parts of the countryside, it is difficult to come to terms with the stark poverty, squalid living conditions and bleak prospects of the young living in the neglected parts of our country

Enterprising Odisha women take to selling fish to improve lives

Women in Odisha’s coastal fishing villages have turned to selling fish and value-added fishery products after eliminating middlemen and abolishing the home brewing of country liquor, the root cause of their problems

Women in rural Uttar Pradesh declare war on skin infections

Through the community village clinics they have established, women collectives in parts of rural Uttar Pradesh have started campaigning successfully against fungal infections that affect the quality of their lives

Kantha embroidery empowers women in rural Bengal

A single woman’s journey to earn a dignified livelihood has today evolved into a revival of the traditional Kantha embroidery that has led to empowerment of rural women in West Bengal

Drumstick cultivation boosts farm incomes in drought-prone Solapur

Perfectly adapted to dry land farming, the nutrient-rich moringa has become the crop of choice among many farmers in drought-prone Solapur, earning them a steady income throughout the year

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