Naga villagers revive traditional crafts and weaves

Women of Diezephe craft village make traditional and contemporary clothes on the traditional loin looms (Photo by Ninglun Hanghal)

Villagers of Diezephe near Dimapur have revived their traditional crafts and weaves by adapting to market demands and by using modern tools, and have found themselves an ecofriendly livelihood

Farm ponds improve lives of Singhbhum women

Farm ponds not only help fulfill agricultural needs, but also help women maintain better personal hygiene and health (Photo by Meghna Mukherjee)

Constructed to ensure water security for cultivators, farm ponds have also helped rural women by reducing their daily treks to fetch water for domestic needs, and improving their personal health and hygiene

Upland farmers shift to coffee for better prospects

With ginger and cardamom failing them, West Bengal farmers like Sonbir Rai have started growing coffee in a part of their lands (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Suffering losses from traditional crops of ginger and cardamom, farmers in the mountainous areas of Kalimpong and Darjeeling in West Bengal have started growing organic coffee for better returns

Rural community at receiving end of temple town’s sewage

Madhavi of Chakkamkandam village has seen the pristine backwaters turn into a cesspool, contaminating even their open wells (Photo by Arun P.J.)

Commercial establishments catering to religious tourism in the temple town of Guruvayur have contaminated the ground and surface water of a village in Thrissur by releasing raw sewage into natural drains

Tripura’s fish farmers net benefits of captive fisheries

With a common goal, the fish farmers in Chandul village in Tripura work in groups, reducing cost and increasing profit (Photo by Pinki Ghosh)

Fish farmers in the Sepahijala district of Tripura have formed collectives to successfully rear fish seeds and table fish. This collective livelihood initiative has increased their incomes by reducing risks and costs

Women farmers suffer due to unequal land rights

Since most women in rural Odisha do not have titles over land, they are provided no compensation by the government against crop loss (Photo by Basudev Mahapatra)

Although they are often the actual cultivators, the lack of land rights among women farmers in Odisha has resulted in chronic distress because they are unable to get government loans or compensation over crop loss

Women show the way in waterless Ladakh

Tsering Chondol (right), President of Women’s Alliance of Ladakh, with three other members outside their office in Leh (Photo by Athar Parvaiz)

As snowfall reduces and glaciers retreat in Ladakh due to climate change, a group of women is promoting traditional ways of farming that are best suited to the cold desert

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Categorized as Livelihoods

Kerala moves swiftly to treat Attapady’s tribes

Tribal people in Kerala’s Attapady administrative block suffer from mental illness (Photo by Dr Prabhu Das)

The lynching of a mentally ill tribal youth has spurred Kerala to create jobs for tribes living in the progressive state, besides surveying them to identify the mentally ill, treat them and rehabilitate them

Karnataka farmers reap benefits of native cow’s milk

Native cows reared in 26 Karnataka villages have brought economic benefits to farmers and health benefits to consumers (Photo by Sudha Narasimhachar)

Rearing native cattle, farmers in rural Karnataka have brought about a welcome rural-urban link, benefiting economically and bringing health benefits to urban consumers

West Bengal brings Dokra metal craft back from brink

Reviving the traditional metal craft Dokra offers a lucrative livelihood to the metal smiths of Bikna (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Revived with the support of the state government and social enterprises, the traditional metal craft Dokra has found its place in art maps, giving artisans in the remote Bikna village much-needed financial stability

Science popularization helps tribal students spread wings

Students collecting water samples from a bore well in their neighborhood (Photo by Gouri Agtey Athale)

An academy in Pune district of Maharashtra has boosted the confidence of tribal students, and helped them dream beyond their textbooks and hamlets by giving them practical exposure to science

Information helpline improves local governance in Nuh villages

Mohammad Sabir of CISC guides woman villagers, helping them seek government benefits, as a first step towards empowering them (Photo by Tarun Kanti Bose)

An information center in Nuh district that lags in economic and social development has created awareness about government schemes and entitlements, and has empowered villagers to claim their rights