Farmers across India revive folk rice varieties

Many farmers are now growing traditional rice varieties as market linkages improve (Photo by Sahaja Samrudha)

Cultivation of traditional rice varieties is becoming popular in Chhattisgarh, after a campaign to popularize indigenous paddy strains spreads from Kerala to Himachal Pradesh to West Bengal

Coastal communities in Tamil Nadu prepare for disasters

Women in coastal villages in Tamil Nadu like Roachmanagar are now trained how to act in the event of a natural disaster like storm surges (Photo by Sharada Balasubramanian)

Fishing communities living on the Bay of Bengal coast in Tamil Nadu, who are vulnerable to extreme weather events, are being trained by the Tamil Nadu government to prepare for disasters

Community farming in Goa stops land conversion

Rice nursery mats await transplantation at St Estevam Island, Goa, in 2019 (Photo by Pamela D’Mello)

Many villagers in Goa have banded together to revive rice cultivation through collective mechanized sowing and transplanting. The success in several villages has now become a catalyst for others

Battling social fault lines in rural water supply

It is invariably the women who are burdened with the task of getting water to rural homes (Photo by Daniel Bachhuber)

The laudable aim of supplying piped water to all rural homes will have to tackle the existing power equations that deeply divide our society, and are tilted in favor of the elite in villages

Talcher villages suffer from industrial waste

Kirodha Das shows the coal washery water from the Talcher industrial hub laced with pollutants entering the villages and farmlands (Photo by Manish Kumar)

With coal industries and washeries polluting land and water, and adversely affecting health, people around Talcher’s industrial hub hope for better administrative support in effluent management

Collective enterprise fights malnutrition with millets

Tribal women packing millet biscuits for children of government schools at the community owned Neelamma Thalli bakery (Photo by C. Shambu Prasad)

A collective enterprise in coastal Andhra Pradesh is contributing towards better nutrition of women and children in tribal areas by producing millet biscuits, while also providing stable rural livelihoods

Water availability and quality in rural water supply

Sourcing drinking water from dug wells have become a rarity in many parts of rural India (Photo by Pixabay)

The aim of delivering clean water to rural homes has to address the twin challenges of sufficient local availability of this depleting resource and ensuring basic quality standards

Date palms make profitable entrance in Solapur

With the climatic conditions suited for date palms, farmers like Rajendra Deshmukh (right) have started growing dates from Kutch in Maharashtra’s Solapur (Photo by Hiren Kumar Bose)

With climatic conditions similar to that of date-growing Kutch, Solapur farmers have started cultivating date palms, finding the extended growth period worth the wait financially

Traditional millet cultivation by Gonds needs revival

Kodo millet stored by a farmer in Khamri in Panna, where most of the tribes have stopped millet cultivation (Photo by Saurav Vema)

The Gond tribes, custodians of agro-biodiversity in central India, have traditionally grown millets that are suited to local climate and terrain. The dying practice needs revival and encouragement

Tap water in rural homes will increase consumption

Providing domestic tap water in rural areas is a huge challenge in India (Photo by Laree Umbah)

Once the central government navigates the tricky issue of water governance, we would need to recognize that tap water in every rural home will expand domestic water usage dramatically

Why Dongria Kondh women prefer childbirth at home

A young tribal woman waits with her newborn to receive the incentive given by the government to encourage institutional delivery (Photo by Rakhi Ghosh)

Lack of easy access to government healthcare in Kalyansinghpur, in addition to cultural and dietary differences in hospitals, is forcing Dongria Kondh women in remote villages to opt out of institutional delivery

Village girls shed fear and shame about menstruation

Through stories and games that demystify menstruation, schoolgirls in rural Jharkhand learn about menstrual cycle and hygiene (Photo by PHRN)

Through a health initiative that demystifies menstruation by using games and stories, schoolgirls in rural Jharkhand are learning about menstrual health and the importance of nutrition

Community-based care improves lives of rural elderly

A community-based public-private initiative that caters to the needs of senior citizens, has improved the physical and mental health of elderly people such as Laxmibai Naitam (Photo by Abhijeet Jadhav)

A collaborative initiative in Maharashtra boosts the physical and mental well-being of senior citizens living in rural areas, while also providing a platform for interaction and improving positivity

Maize loses sheen for Bihar’s farmers

Gulab Bagh mandi, the largest maize trading center in Purnea district. Traders are making a killing on high demand but cultivators complain of low prices (Photo by Mohd Imran Khan)

Seemanchal farmers, who switched from wheat and jute to water-friendly maize, are earning less despite high demand and good yield, and look to the government to intervene

It’s raining sand in Rayalaseema

The desertification of Rayalaseema has intensified the farming crisis in the region (Photo by Rahul M.)

Changes in crop patterns, waning forest cover, an explosion of borewells and the death of a river have produced dramatic effects on land, air, water and forests in Rayalaseema

Tribal and Dalit youth need new role models

A group of tribal boys playing football (Photo by Flickr)

There is need to promote talent among tribal and Dalit girls and boys and build them up as heroes in order to boost self-perception and identity of these depressed communities

Raigad farmers cultivate rice with less water

The farm at Saguna, where the new rice-growing technique was introduced by Bhadsavle (left), attracts scientists like the former director of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Photo by Hiren Kumar Bose)

Farmers in many parts of Maharashtra are switching from water-intensive paddy cultivation to the innovative Saguna rice technique that manages soil and water more efficiently while yielding better harvests

Rearing goats empower women in rural Bihar

Pashu sakhis such as Phulchun Devi of Jhitkahi village help women rear goats by offering various services as para-veterinarians (Photo by AKRSPI)

From just grazing goats, women in rural Muzaffarpur have taken to rearing them and attending to their feed and health needs, empowering themselves with increased incomes in the process

Vineyards of hope amid Marathwada drought

A Kadwanchi vineyard being watered through drip irrigation and with the roots covered by straw to minimize evaporation (Photo by Joydeep Gupta)

Despite the drought gripping the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, one village in the region has flourished by growing grapes using innovative water saving methods