Livelihoods

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Manas villagers benefit from alternate livelihoods

Shifting to non-forest livelihoods has helped landless families around Manas National Park to avoid human-animal conflicts, and earn more without denuding the forests

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Hudali keeps khadi cooperative flag flying

The first khadi unit to be established in southern India at Hudali in Karnataka continues as a successful rural artisanal cooperative, supplying a variety of products to industries and urban consumers

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Declining rainfall places farming at risk in Bihar

The economy of Bihar is in jeopardy as the number of no rainfall days due to climate change is showing an increasing trend in a state that depends heavily on rain-fed agriculture

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Vagad farmers stage progress marches

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Tribal farmers of the Vagad region have been marching through villages to find local solutions to farming and community problems through participation and discussion

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Villagers face eviction near Panna forest reserve

The residents of Rampura, a small village in the buffer zone of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, have been asked to move. But, they say, with no allocation of alternative land, they have nowhere to go

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Is farmer income support a sustainable solution?

Income support to smallholder farmers is similar to palliative measures like minimum support prices or loan waivers that do not address the problem of an unsustainable population living on a fixed resource base

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Irrigation key to fighting poverty in Kandhamal

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Groundwater recharge in Kandhamal’s undulating terrain and pumps to lift water are needed to break the nexus between lack of irrigation and poverty in this seriously underdeveloped area of Odisha

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Tamil women bank on herbs to boost income

Women in rural Villupuram have quit working as farm labor and have become herbal entrepreneurs to conserve traditional knowledge, revive use of healthy herbs and boost household incomes

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Healthcare of elderly suffers with youth migration

With little livelihood opportunities in villages, the youth in rural Maharashtra migrate to cities, leading to delayed healthcare of elderly dependents and increased medical expenses

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Kashidakari women look to grow embroidery earnings

Women in Jodhasar, who have begun embroidering for a living by putting traditional skills they used for embellishing personal clothing to good use, need better market linkages to boost incomes

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Beedi rolling robs Murshidabad girls of their childhood

Young girls in rural Murshidabad are pushed by their parents to roll beedis, the poor man’s cigarette, at the cost of their schooling because being able to earn improves their marriage prospects

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Palakkad’s priestly community encash culinary tradition

Priests from Tamil Nadu, who migrated to Kerala for temple duties centuries ago, have put their culinary skills to good use, augmenting household incomes and the local economy

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Seed guardians of Banswara revive traditional varieties

Village women in Banswara district of Rajasthan are setting an example as organic farmers by adopting and spreading awareness to revive indigenous varieties of crops that boost nutritional security

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How development excludes India’s tribal people

Failing to understand the tribal world view and imposing the dominant development paradigm on adivasi communities is affecting their identity and well-being

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Karnataka dairy farmers face heat of drought

Dairy farmers in Karnataka have been seriously impacted by the severe drought in most parts of the state as milk yields have fallen and fodder has become more expensive

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Singing genealogists of Karnataka sustain ancestral profession

The Helavas of Karnataka, who sing family genealogies from carefully maintained records, have practiced the tradition for centuries, and continue to do so despite fading relevance

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Heavy snow hurts Kashmir’s apple farmers

Extreme weather events such as untimely snowfall and heavy floods have harmed the apple crop in Kashmir; one way to reduce losses is to properly implement a crop insurance scheme

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Village health workers toil tirelessly despite low wages

Village health workers have emerged as the mainstay of the primary healthcare system in rural Maharashtra. Yet, they are paid tiny amounts, get no benefits and struggle with supply shortages

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Participation key to empowering Juang tribes

Treating Juang tribes of Odisha as participants in the development process rather than as recipients of development largesse will help bringing them into the national mainstream

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Food forests offer better profits to farmers

Mimicking forests, progressive farmers across India have started transforming farms into a layered cropping system that is climate resilient and more productive