Features
Winter farming technologies boost incomes in cold desert
With the farming season limited to just four months in Ladakh, villagers have turned to innovative, low-cost technologies to grow vegetables in winter that improves diets and boosts incomes, but smallholder farmers need post-harvest support
Bhimashankar villagers multiply indigenous seeds
A school in Pune has got a rural community together to cultivate indigenous rice, millets and pulses, and helps them market the native varieties in order to conserve and propagate them
Mountain farmers adapt to life beyond apples
As impacts of climate change and unwise human interventions push traditional farmers in Uttarakhand to the wall, they are adapting by embracing new crops and livelihoods
Tamil farmers innovate to overcome fodder shortage
Faced with a shortage of cattle feed, farmers in several districts of Tamil Nadu have adopted offbeat solutions that not only bring feeding costs down but also increase the yields of milk
Manipur villagers initiate successful economic development
Residents of Nongpok Sanjenbam, an underdeveloped Manipuri village, have come together to bring about economic and social transformation, enjoying the benefits in the process
Stress-tolerant rice aids Uttar Pradesh farmers
With her crop surviving nearly two weeks of submergence and recovering from an intense flood, Sohabati Devi of Maharajganj has every reason to smile and be proud of her decision to plant a stress-tolerant rice variety
Educated Tamil youth boost growth with hi-tech farming
Returning to their roots, educated youth in Tamil Nadu have boosted agricultural production manifold by modernizing their ancestral land, and by using Israeli farming technology
Poshan sakhis transform reproductive health in Odisha
Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and lactating mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries
Piped water allows rural women to bathe in private
In Odisha, where a high number of rural households lack enclosed bathing spaces, construction of bathrooms and piped water supply help women avoid bathing in the open
Chhattisgarh tribes taste success raising honeybees
Living a marginalized life in the mining region of Dantewada, local tribes dependent on forest produce, rain-fed agriculture and wild honey have successfully taken to modern apiculture
Traditional agricultural wisdom still relevant in Assam
Scientists are now validating the wisdom behind Dakor Boson, a bunch of rhyming verses that has offered tips to farmers in Assam and its neighbouring areas for centuries
Hilsa fishers driven to the edge by overfishing
The hilsa fishermen of Howrah district in West Bengal are struggling against declining catch, stiff competition from mechanized trawlers and non-traditional fishermen entering the lucrative occupation
Coastal farmers tackle salinity with innovative measures
Farmers in coastal Tamil Nadu are countering salinity caused by droughts and groundwater depletion through rainwater harvesting and by reviving traditional organic farming practices
Marathwada farmers harvest water in streams, reap rich yields
Farmers in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra that is prone to droughts have made agriculture remunerative by harvesting rainwater in pond-like pockets in streams, leading to groundwater recharge
Weavers of Negamam face social, economic challenges
The traditional handloom weavers of the famous Negamam cotton sarees in Tamil Nadu are dwindling in number as they battle changing social norms and economic challenges from cheaper products
Fluorosis extracts a toll in rural West Bengal
Groundwater contaminated with fluoride is affecting the health of people in villages, especially the elderly and children, even as awareness on fluorosis is low in rural areas and the government remains apathetic
Lambani embroidery makes a fashion statement
Modern clothing embellished with kasuthi kelsa (embroidery work) that is unique to the Lambani tribal community in Karnataka has helped local women keep the traditional craft alive and kicking
Malabar women raise their voice against triple talaq
Women at the receiving end of triple talaq divorce pronouncements in the Malabar region of Kerala have stood up to their rights but have faced dire consequences. Their hopes are now pinned on the new law
Education gives Paromita hope for a better future
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
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