Social entrepreneur sets Naga tribes on path of progress

Naga tribes in Jalukie Valley have shifted from jhum cultivation to wadi plantations of pineapple, mango, etc. (Photo by Rongmei Baptist Association)

In an underdeveloped part of Jalukie Valley in Nagaland, the church-based Rongmei Baptist Association has gone beyond call of faith to help tribal communities uplift themselves through development interventions

Bihar farmers taste success with sweet strawberries

A woman farmer with the strawberries she picked in a farm in Chilhaki Bigha village. (Photo by Mohd Imran Khan)

Farmers in an Aurangabad village prone to drought and Maoist insurgency have defied scientific opinion, and cultivated strawberries successfully, boosting the local economy

Kashmir’s vegetable farmers reap rich dividends

Farmers working in a vegetable farm in Ompora in Budgam ensure availability of fresh produce across the state in winter. (Photo by Athar Parvaiz)

Bringing more land under vegetable cultivation and using technology, farmers in Kashmir have made fresh produce available for the state in winter and for other states in summer

There’s more to horticulture than tomatoes, onions and potatoes

Farmers near Nashik in Maharashtra on their way to the market with their tomato harvest. (Photo by Michael Foley)

While the priority given to tomato, onion and potato (TOP) farmers by the Prime Minister is a welcome move, special attention must be given to smallholder vegetable growers, since horticulture provides a nutrition and income buffer to the rural poor

Purulia’s nachaniyas still dance to escape destitution

Girls become dancers to escape poverty, but end up being exploited by their masters. (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Exploited by their so-called masters, the folk dancers of rural Bengal have no option but to keep dancing and entertaining to escape poverty and destitution, shunned by society and with no help from the government

Rainwater harvesting is the best way forward for irrigation

A water harvesting structure in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh helps farmers to increase the local farm moisture regime for both the summer and winter crops.

As intensive agriculture spreads across India, there is an urgent need to encourage rainwater harvesting to irrigate multiple crops instead of the current unsustainable practice of groundwater extraction

Pad women of Assam start menstrual hygiene movement

A young girl in Pamohi village stitches reusable sanitary pads for distribution among rural women. (Photo by Abdul Gani)

Young women have brought about a change in the mindset of rural men and women in Assam about menstrual hygiene and steered the women towards better hygiene with reusable cloth pads

Hailstorms devastate Marathwada, Vidarbha farmers

Winter crops in over 300,000 hectares in Maharashtra have been destroyed due to hailstorms and thunderstorms in February. (Photo by Manoj Shembde)

Sudden hailstorms have extensively damaged the winter crop in Marathwada and Vidarbha, underlining the fact that the distressed farmers need more accurate weather forecasts, speedier compensation and farmer-friendly crop insurance

Community radio creates waves of change in Karnataka villages

Sunil and Nagamani at the Sarathi Jhalak radio station during a program. (Photo by Sudha Narasimhachar)

Run primarily by women, the Sarathi Jhalak radio station has brought administrators, experts and villagers on the same platform, giving rural communities a voice

Tarapur villages use saltpan to harvest water

The pond in Tarapur, reclaimed from a saltpan, will enable farmers to grow vegetables. (Photo by Hiren Kumar Bose)

Although land and groundwater around the Tarapur atomic plant had turned saline due to seawater ingress and presence of a saltpan, villagers have successfully redeemed and reclaimed the land

Families in Neikkarapatti make jaggery, unmindful of challenges

The entire family is involved in the slow, laborious process of making jaggery. (Photo by Chithra Ajith)

Sugarcane farmers in this part of rural Tamil Nadu have been adding value to their produce through a slow and arduous process, and offer jaggery as a healthier alternative to sugar

Poorly designed check dams leave Birbhum farmers high and dry

The Abadnagar check dam has not fulfilled the purpose of irrigating farms. (Photo by Gautam Sarkar)

As against government’s promise to make water available through the seasons, inadequate check dams have not brought any relief to farmers in this semi-arid region who continue to struggle for sustenance

Snow leopard conservation brings socioeconomic benefits to Rumbak village

Tashi Tsonma of Rumbak Village fetches hot water from a solar heater. (Photo by Sharada Balasubramanian)

A remote hamlet in Leh’s high altitude Hemis National Park constantly loses its livestock to snow leopards, but have turned to homestays around conservation tourism, reaping rich rewards

What technology does the poor need?

Solutions like improved bullock carts do not cut any ice with the poor any more. (Photo by Pixabay)

Although it is true that the poor needs affordable technological solutions that meet their requirements, these solutions frequently fail to account for their aspirations and often do not offer what the user really wants

Gujarat’s cleanliness success exists only in numbers

Many men in Kuha village defecate in the open in spite of having a toilet at home. (Photo by Gajanan Khergamker)

Although Gujarat was declared open defecation free in October 2017 based on the number of toilets constructed as part of the Swachh Bharat mission, the ground reality is different in the rural areas of the state