Millets travel from tribal farms to dinner tables

The indigenous Dongria Kondh community in Odisha is helping to restore the popularity of native varieties of millets that can grow in droughty weather conditions, even as millet products gain traction among affluent consumers for their many health benefits

Tie and dye add color to women’s lives in Nosariya

Learning the traditional art of coloring fabrics is enabling many women in rural Bikaner to add an additional source of household income in an area where patriarchy makes it difficult for them to step out of their villages

For some more blades of grass

Instead of raising a hue and cry to protect cows, more immediate action is required to make fodder available to the large cattle population in the country by controlling the menace of unwanted shrubs and weeds in India’s pastures and forests

Marathwada farmers face bleak sowing season

Although the Maharashtra government has announced a loan waiver, deeply indebted farmers of Marathwada still do not know how they will get the money to buy farm inputs this sowing season ahead of the monsoon

Facebook, WhatsApp curbing child marriages in Assam

At a time when social media is being used to spread lies and malicious rumors, a group of young people in Assam are using WhatsApp and Facebook groups to prevent child marriages in the underdeveloped district of Darrang

Custom of child marriages must be fought on multiple fronts

There is no silver bullet to defeat the scourge of underage marriages. Rather, it is important to extend the scope of current interventions among adolescents and the communities they grow up in, which then need to be backed up by suitable government policies

Girls join football clubs to resist child marriages in rural Bihar

Once topping the charts in child marriages in the country, Bihar has reduced the incidence of this social evil considerably, helped by innovative interventions such as starting girls clubs for solidarity and encouraging them to play football

Competition encourages watershed management to drought-proof Maharashtra villages

As part of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup 2017, over 1,300 villages in drought-prone areas of Maharashtra are creating water-harvesting structures to overcome chronic water scarcity, particularly during the hot season

Water control is the strongest anti-poverty measure

Once we realize that one size does not fit all, it will be easier for the government and civil society organizations to tailor strategies to manage water in the different agro-climatic regions of the country that truly benefits the rural poor

Indigenous art forms of Santhal Pargana are in need of revival

The last few practitioners of Chador Badoni, a form of puppetry, and Jadu Patiya, a form of painting and story telling, say their art forms may soon be lost to modern times unless there is a serious attempt to revive them

Indigenous community in Dang fights for land rights

The people of Navagam village in Dang district of Gujarat have said they would boycott upcoming assembly polls if the government does not resolve the long pending issue of land and house titles

After the drought, Kerala to chase monsoon to catch rain where it falls

After the century’s worst drought, people in Kerala are now getting ready to harvest rain in their backyard wells, temple ponds and lush forests. Citizens, voluntary groups and the state government are ready with a set of measures. It just needs to rain.

Farmers in coastal Tamil Nadu battle drought with smart farming

Farmers of Vedaranayam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu are surviving the current drought by growing diverse crops that suit their soil, despite the failure of the rains and not getting water from the Cauvery River for many years

Many fellows but not too many ships to anchor

To make fellowships that connect with rural realities really worthwhile, it is necessary to provide pointed guidance through mentors who are ready to engage, a vital aspect that many of the programs are not addressing adequately

Small pumps are a viable solution for poor farmers

Although small pumps for irrigation doesn’t get the attention it deserves, evidence from groundwater-rich states such as Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha show that they have significant benefits for small and marginal farmers

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