Lockdown drives embroidery artisans to alternate jobs

Sarfaraz Hussain, a zardozi artisan, showing the last piece in his workshop, has been selling vegetables, to feed his family (Photo by Jigyasa Mishra)

With sales dwindling to a low during the lockdown, artisans who undertake skilled embroidery, have been forced to shutter workshops and switch to other means of livelihood

Community restores private forests for sustainable future

Degraded private forests in Western Ghats are being restored with community support (Photo courtesy WRCS)

Private forest owners have been restoring degraded lands, improving green cover and livelihood opportunities. The initiative helps in biodiversity conservation and maintenance of wildlife corridor as well

In Kashmir, no migrants to reap rice harvest

As migrant laborers have left during the lockdown, farmers and their families are harvesting the paddy crop in Central Kashmir (Photo by Muzamil Bhat)

Inexpensive migrant laborers work the paddy fields in Central Kashmir. As they have left due to the lockdown, farmers and their families are stepping in to harvest the crop

Mentoring helps tribal youth choose new careers

A new program has helped young men and women from tribal districts find employment after mentoring and training (Photo by Aniruddh Kumar Shastri)

Career counseling and training help tribal youth develop skills and choose new vocations, resulting in social upliftment, women’s empowerment and changes in societal norms

Medicinal herb ushers prosperity for Sagar Island farmers

Medicinal herb brahmi that grows well in Sagar Island, given its suitable topography and agroclimatic conditions, has become a boon for farmers (Photo courtesy Sagar Krishi Unnayan Cluster)

Given the demand for brahmi in national and international pharma and nutraceutical markets, farmers in Sagar Island are switching from paddy to organic brahmi cultivation and getting good financial returns

Patriarchy, sustainability and shame

Gender disparity is obvious in villages, by the way work is demarcated, and by the lack of basic amenities for women (Photo credit: Sunita)

In the present rural development model, a gender lens is lacking in the development designs, leaving women continue their demarcated role, with no progress or empowerment in sight

Farming proves therapeutic to the intellectually challenged

Farming helps the intellectually challenged learn life skills and as a therapy, calming them down (Photo by Balasubramaniam. N)

Varied activities in the residential farm helps those with intellectual disabilities calm down and learn many social and life skills, besides offering a livelihood

Teachers turn rural house fronts into classrooms

The idea of a blackboard for each student ensures they learn their lessons, while maintaining physical distancing (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Teachers of a government school in a Jharkhand village have turned exterior walls of mud houses into blackboards and raised platforms into seats, to ensure students continue their education

A farm-cum-training hub shows the way to sustainable agriculture

Sarvdaman Patel has made his farm into a training ground on organic and biodynamic farming (Photo by Bhaikaka Krishi Kendra)

Switching from conventional farming, a farmer who discovered the benefits of organic and biodynamic farming, has converted his farm into a workshop to train people in sustainable cultivation

Transgenders fight blind beliefs about motherhood and childcare

Under the Nua Maa program, trained transgender catalysts counsel mothers and adolescent girls on women and child care (Photo by Camera Baba)

Creating awareness through street plays and one-to-one counseling, trained transgender women leverage cultural practices to educate tribal women with poor health indicators, the importance of seeking health care

Women herders lose authority as pastoralism declines

Decline in nomadic pastoralism is impacting the women in the traditional herding communities (Photo by Gaganjit Singh)

Changes in farming practices and climate crisis affecting nomadic pastoralism, traditional herders opt for settled living. As they migrate for other jobs, women bear the burden of added responsibilities

Returned migrants take to smuggling for want of livelihood

The long riverine border, like Ichamati River shown here, has made it easier for many returned migrant youth to smuggle goods to Bangladesh (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

In villages of West Bengal close to the Indo – Bangladesh border, migrants back home during the lockdown have been lured into smuggling for financial sustenance

Villagers save in a deity’s name for rainy day

A traditional practice of pooling money in village deity's name during annual festival helps villagers save and borrow money for emergencies (Photo by Palak Gosai)

Village God’s Funds, a traditional practice of pooling money and lending to shareholders with just a social collateral, help villagers save and borrow money for emergencies

Women grassroots health workers take to cycling for better reach

Amita Kumari learning to ride a bicycle, so that she can commute easily and fulfill her duties as an accredited social health activist (ASHA) effectively (Photo by Dyuti Sen)

Accredited social health activists, who were dependent on the men in their family to commute or walked many miles every day, have become punctual and efficient after learning to cycle

Elephants establish new habitat in Andhra Pradesh

Habitat destruction has led to elephants cross into Andhra Pradesh from neighboring states (Photo by Rakesh Kalva)

Farmers suffer crop damages as elephants re-colonize the state after centuries. While Wildlife Week celebrations are on, experts advocate long-term planning to minimize conflicts

Online classes spell end of education for rural girls

With her brother using the single phone for online classes, Keerti Yadav goes for plucking mangoes, missing out on lessons (Photo by Jigyasa Mishra)

With boys getting preference to use the single multimedia phone at home, girls from poor rural households have discontinued studies, resigning themselves to an early marriage

Lockdown threw new hardships along nomadic herders’ paths

During the lockdown nomadic pastoralists faced many hardships and discrimination (Photo by Anu Verma and Biren Nayak)

Their migration towards summer pastures coinciding with the first lockdown, and with severe restrictions on movement, pastoralists lacked access to pastures, water and fodder, besides facing discrimination

Treatment and awareness help women overcome anemia

Tests conducted among women in Narharpur block, Chhattisgarh, showed the prevalence of anemia (Photo by Ashutosh Nanda)

Extensive testing, treating the affected, and awareness about food habits to change malnutrition status have brought down the prevalence of anemia and improved the health of women

How to ensure better well-being of India’s elderly

India’s sizeable elderly population needs medical care and emotional care (Photo courtesy Sugandhi Baliga)

On this International Elders’ Day, success of an intervention offering social bonding, and health cards providing the elderly easy access to health care, point the way for effective elder care