Features
Why we need a gender-sensitive pandemic management
Mitigatory measures need to recognize the fact that infected women and women caregivers get a differential treatment in villages due to discriminatory and insensitive perspectives
Forest-dependent tribes lose income to forest fires
Unable to collect mahua flowers and other forest produce because of fires in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, tribal communities already impacted by the pandemic have lost their livelihood
Community seed banks help conserve climate-resilient crops
Combining community knowledge and scientific ways, farmers conserve stress-tolerant landraces in their fields, and distribute the seeds to other farmers through community seed banks
Empowered women dairy farmers create ripple effect
With the development of dairy cooperatives, some exclusively for women, dairy farming which supplemented agricultural income has led to full-fledged businesses and successful women micro-entrepreneurs
Increased farm work adversely affects women’s nutrition
Spending more time for agricultural activities besides attending to household needs leave very little time for women to cook proper meals, impacting their nutrient intake
Lack of facilities in villages hamper COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment
An inadequate rural healthcare system, a lack of awareness about the spread of coronavirus, combined with the difficulty in home isolation leads to increase in number of infections in Odisha
Participatory theatre helps frontline workers cope with burn-out
Allowing the audience to change the way a play progresses has helped frontline workers acknowledge personal pandemic fears and learn the importance of peer learning and support
Lack of local livelihoods forces men to migrate far
With no industrial jobs, and low wages in agriculture, men from Bhagabanpur in Maldah district migrate to faraway places like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, to make a living
Gond youth keep their cultural traditions alive
Songs to mark celebrations and appeal to gods, accompanied by rhythmic drum beats and dancing, are part of Adivasi culture. Cultural melas help the youth continue their tradition
Can farmers farm for prosperity?
Those who intervene for farmers’ welfare seem to prefer maintaining the poor-farmer image than ensuring financial success. The first of a four-part series explores this aspect
Farmer runs people’s academy to share knowledge
A Pawara tribe farmer, who transformed his unproductive land and started conservation of landraces, serves as a resource person at field trainings despite lacking formal education
Alcohol addiction gives way to organic farming
Appalled by the lakhs they spent on alcohol, residents of a village vow to never touch liquor again. They turn their village into a successful organic model
Community restores grasslands, makes village drought-resilient
Grasslands conservation, initiated to ensure water availability has increased the water table, resulting in reverse migration and cultivation of crops, and prevention of soil erosion
Community ensures forest protection and sustainable management
Van panchayats, which are local forest management institutions with elected representatives, ensure protection of forests by reviving and conserving water sources and by adopting fire prevention measures
Marital blessing helps women understand reproductive system
The traditional phulo-phalo blessing that every newly married couple receives seems a materialistic blessing. With a deeper meaning about fertility, it helps women understand reproductive health
Community prevents pollution, keeps lake clean
By taking all possible preventive measures, community ensures Tsogmo Lake, a popular tourist destination in Sikkim with rich biodiversity, remains tidy and pollution free
Tribal women reap benefits of collective farming
Switching to modern agricultural practices and coming together as producer groups have helped women farmers have the bargaining power about their produce and earn more
Transitional houses help villagers rebuild life after cyclone
Villagers have rebuilt their life after Cyclone Fani, by building transitional shelters with local material. Building by themselves has given them dignity, besides a safe space
Bihar farmers grow makhana to tackle weather uncertainties
Climate-induced extreme weather events damaging their traditionally grown maize and paddy crops, farmers have switched to growing resilient foxtrot, known for its nutritional value