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Returned migrants: Despair and coping
Distance to host city, commitment of employer and livelihood opportunity at native village help returned workers decide on post-lockdown migration. Till then they cope with available resources
Women contribute grains to support vulnerable families during lockdown
With no labor work during lockdown, many women in remote villages lacked essentials to feed their family. Fellow women helped them by building a food bank with contributions
Resourceful producer companies address farmers’ lockdown challenges
As members struggled to buy farm inputs and sell produce, their FPCs, with special permission, arranged for inputs and sold their produce directly to consumers
India Post delivers litchis in Bihar during lockdown
Postal department and horticulture directorate join hands to deliver litchi directly at consumers’ doorstep, helping farmers sell the fruits and get better price during lockdown
Making sal leaf plates lifts women out of poverty
With increased awareness about ecofriendly products, women in West Bengal make plates and bowls made of sal leaves, earning an increased and sustained income
MGNREGS curbs distress migration, provides employment during lockdown
With agriculture turning unsustainable, villagers migrated to nearby towns for work. Community planning leading to sanctioned MGNREGS works has ensured local livelihood and has stemmed migration
Village Organizations pave way for women’s empowerment
Women who came together for better livelihood, have become socially empowered that they use their collective power to resolve community issues and ensure gender justice
With no increase in tiger count, tribes continue to be relocated
With discontentment among relocated tribes leading to conflict between tiger conservation and tribes’ habitat rights in Similipal, administrators hope to change mindset with education and employment
Will the post-pandemic government be more responsible and responsive?
COVID-19 crisis showed how government can work with zeal and efficiency. It will be a welcome outcome of the pandemic If the momentum continues in the new normal
Identifying farmers’ needs helps producer company find footing
When members’ ownership, exchange of ideas and process-driven systems take precedence over turnover and profitability, farmer producer companies will become self-reliant and succeed
Women bring economic and environmental changes with leaf plates
By making biodegradable tableware from areca leaves that used to be burnt, rural women in Assam help minimize air and plastic pollution, while increasing their household income
Lacking access to bamboo, Basor artisans struggle for livelihood
Coordinated efforts are needed to make raw material available for the Basor community, to help sustain their traditional bamboo weaving skills and forest-based livelihood
Dongria Kondhs struggle to sell forest produce during lockdown
As the peak harvest season of minor forest produce coincides with the lockdown period, the tribes of Niyamgiri Hills struggle to sustain their forest-based livelihood
Scientist ropes in coastal communities for marine conservation
Creating awareness about mangrove and seagrass ecosystems among coastal communities, and facilitating additional income for them, a marine scientist involves them in conservation
Decentralized administration will prevent post-lockdown rural crisis
Social and behavioral aspects, besides economic and medical dimensions of the migrants need to be considered, to avoid cracks on existing rural fault lines
Odisha government needs to intervene to mitigate migrant distress
For Odisha that is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, government needs to develop multiple strategies to ensure economic resilience of migrant households against unforeseen shocks
Will uru tourism revive prospects of Kerala’s wooden dhows
Handcrafting of wooden dhows is on a decline, as the ancient cargo vessels have become redundant. Government plans to include dhows in tourism to revive the craft
Stranded Chakmas in Tiruppur fear bleak prospects
With knitwear industry grinding to a halt, Chakma tribes who had migrated to Tamil Nadu from northeastern states to avoid poverty, find themselves in the same challenging situation
Cyclone Amphan leaves trail of destruction in Sundarbans
Already in distress due to lockdown, horticulture farmers of Sundarbans suffer saltwater intrusion and loss of trees to Cyclone Amphan, while tiger widows lose livelihoods and homes
Adolescent girls progress towards complete empowerment
Repressive norms pushed adolescent girls to poor health and early marriage. Bringing them together into groups has helped them improve their health, stop child marriage and learn vocational skills