Features

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Community radio creates waves of change in Karnataka villages

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

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Tarapur villages use saltpan to harvest water

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

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Families in Neikkarapatti make jaggery, unmindful of challenges

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

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Poorly designed check dams leave Birbhum farmers high and dry

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

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Snow leopard conservation brings socioeconomic benefits to Rumbak village

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

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Permaculture sets new agenda for agriculture in Telangana

Many progressive farmers in Telangana are turning barren land into productive farms by adopting permaculture, which involves developing a sustainable and self-sufficient agricultural ecosystem

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Gujarat’s cleanliness success exists only in numbers

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

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Salem marriages bane of Malabar girls due to dowry problem

Caught in an unenviable situation where dowry demands are unreasonably high due to increased inflow of money from gulf jobs, girls in rural Malabar are virtually compelled into unequal marriages, often with disturbing consequences

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Landless Musahars continue their wait for development

Marginalized and landless, Musahars have become free from bonded labor, yet continue to suffer social discrimination and financial hardships, hoping for government schemes to deliver

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Solapur farmers turn lives around with crop diversification

With recurrent droughts, landowning marginal farmers of Solapur in Maharashtra were forced to work as wage laborers till they switched from cash crops to horticulture and millets for an economic turnaround

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Kanas villagers make water safe through simple interventions

Water from ponds and tube wells made safe for consumption through simple and easy to maintain solutions have reduced water-borne diseases in coastal Odisha and has enabled village women to utilize the saved time more productively

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Deepsea fishermen need early warning after Cyclone Ockhi

Hundreds of lives could have been saved from the ravages of Cyclone Ockhi if deepsea fishermen were able to carry better communications gear onboard and if there was a better system of early storm warning

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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

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Madhya Pradesh farmers unite to fight lantana infestation

Villages in eastern Madhya Pradesh have come together to rid their land of lantana, an invasive species that have taken over 4% of the India’s land area, and have reclaimed their farms by cultivating millets and oilseeds

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Santhal tribes revive tradition for safe drinking water

By reverting to the traditional practice of keeping water pots in a garsadi, a raised platform, villagers in Jharkhand have successfully prevented contamination of drinking water, improving health in households

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Kangri still keeps Kashmir warm in winter

The traditional fire pot of Kashmir helps people keep themselves warm in the harsh winter, retaining its utility despite the advent of modern appliances, and assuring thousands of men and women their livelihood

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Community rebuilds life after Cyclone Phailin wrecked their fishing hamlet

Ravaged by Cyclone Phailin, people of a fishing village buried their differences and emerged with a strong sense of unity to rebuild their lives at a relocation site

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Musahars in Bihar struggle to educate their children

Derided as eater of rats, a large number of Mushahars in Bihar villages see education of their children as the only way out of the oppression they face daily but the going is still tough

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Woman mason rebuilds life after devastation of Cyclone Phailin

Stepping into the exclusive male preserve of masonry, Damayanti Patra of rural Ganjam has shown exemplary determination to overcome personal tragedy and natural disaster to secure a sustainable vocation

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Hungry Padma drives people from their homes

With various factors contributing to unchecked erosion of the banks of Padma River, villages along its course in Jalangi have lost farmlands, forcing women and men to migrate to distant places in search of a livelihood