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
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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
Solar pumps brighten lives of Kutch’s salt farmers
Agariyas, the traditional saltpan workers in the Little Rann of Kutch, have switched from diesel to ecofriendly solar-powered pumps to lift brine that have boosted their earnings from saved costs
Chhattisgarh makes headway on tribal rights
Chhattisgarh has taken encouraging steps to recognize and implement rights of forest communities but more effort is required needed at the village level to boost livelihood opportunities for indigenous people
Doll makers of Bengal face bleak prospects
The wooden doll makers of Natungram in Burdwan district have traditionally done good business during Durga Puja, but this festive season has brought little cheer to them due to reduced orders
GI tag boosts demand for Waigaon’s turmeric
Farmers of Waigaon in Maharashtra have received a GI tag for organically grown turmeric that is rich in curcumin, known for its multiple health benefits. The cultivators hope to cash in on the increase in demand
Gram swaraj in a globalizing world
Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of economically self-sufficient villages is at a distinct variance with the ideas and policies of liberalization, trade and globalization. Is it possible to strike a middle path?
Soligas in tiger reserve win battle over forest rights
After the jungles they inhabit were declared a wildlife sanctuary, the Soliga tribe in southern Karnataka has made history by winning a legal battle over their traditional rights to forestland and produce
Mobile labs in rural Odisha promote science-based solutions
With a science-based approach learnt from mobile science labs through the audiovisual medium, tribes in Odisha have adapted simple measures that have helped in reducing their health problems
Bhimshankar village makes the most of nature’s trail
Residents of Yelavali village inside Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra have made a collective decision to promote responsible ecotourism that is providing them with a sustainable livelihood