Livelihoods

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Weaving a future, meter by meter

In the villages of Bodoland in Assam, where every Bodo home has a loom, Sama Brahma earns a modest income from weaving, and is trying to pass on this waning traditional skill to her daughters

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Can data-driven social enterprises boost farmer incomes?

A collaboration between technological and value chain enterprises working directly with farmers could help make the farm to fork value chain more organized and efficient, thus increasing returns to cultivators

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Monkeys damage cashew plantations, cause fever outbreak

Fear of monkeys has gripped cashew farmers and migrant workers in Goa, as the simians have turned cashew plantations into a feeding ground, destroying the crop and transmitting a virus through ticks

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The unending saga of farm distress in India

Farmers in India will continue to suffer unless there is a fundamental change in the pro-urban policy bias of propping up unsustainably low food prices

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Temple carvers unite against scourge of silicosis

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Three out of every 10 stone-carving workers in Rajasthan, who build temples, are facing death due to silicosis. They are now unionizing to demand freedom from disease and for dignity in god’s work

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Kamrup women lead Eri silk revival for improved livelihoods

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Linking markets with traditional Eri silk weavers in many parts of Assam, non-profit organization Grameen Sahara has enabled thousands of village women to boost their household incomes

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Bengal farmers conserve heritage rice against climate vagaries

Going against the general preference for high-yielding rice, some marginal farmers in Bankura have started conserving, documenting and propagating traditional rice varieties that are on the brink of extinction

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Pipli craftsmen adapt to modern needs for better prospects

Despite falling demand, applique craftsmen and traders of Pipli in Odisha are trying to ensure that their handicraft evolves to satisfy changing aesthetic needs, with hopes for a better future

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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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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

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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

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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

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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

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Stress-tolerant rice aids Uttar Pradesh farmers

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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