Livelihoods

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Holi moly: Here’s a look at Tharu tribe’s celebrations

It takes a village to celebrate Holi for several days in a row, and the Tharu tribe of southern Uttarakhand leaves no stone unturned to do so.

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Assamese monks on mission to save rare culture and language

Even before the UN declared 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, this Buddhist community of 2,000 people began an initiative to preserve the Tai Phake history, culture and identity by teaching its young to speak, read and write their native language.

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What’s a tiger reserve without a safari?

The tiny, off-grid destination in North Bengal’s Buxa tiger reserve is a paradise for nature lovers, but its tourism-dependent residents are plagued by a mountain of problems.

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The Kolhapur rice tipping the scale one grain at a time

Nearly a decade after getting the recognition it deserved – bagging a GI tag in 2015 – Maharashtra’s fragrant and slender Ajara Ghansal rice is now becoming the foodie’s favourite.

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Shrimply Tamil Nadu

Does the sight of shrimp make you hungry? This photo walkthrough shows how shrimp farming is reshaping the environment, livelihoods and social relations in a coastal village of Tamil Nadu.

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Flower farming is no bed of roses

Welcome to the world of Dutch roses and those who usher brief moments of joy in our lives—the growers.

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Meet 82-year-old Wani, who runs Kashmir’s last traditional oil mill

Every village in Kashmir once had ox-driven oil presses made of wood and stone until machine extraction came. But one man clings on. Ghulam Mohammad Wani’s mill is the last of its kind in Kashmir.

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SFURTI: Helping farmers to become artisans with a novel scheme

Two-third of India lives in villages with limited access to economic agricultural opportunities. SFURTI, a government scheme, is trying to help villages imagine their lives beyond farming – helping them become earning artisans.

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Enterprising women: Stories of inspiring micro-entrepreneurs in Maharashtra

Women who run small businesses and micro-enterprises in a village in Maharashtra are entrepreneurial role models, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

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Why a road is a roadblock for Bonda Tribes in Odisha

A slushy, patchy, potholed road is pushing up transportation costs, preventing tribal inhabitants of Andrahal village in Odisha's Malkangiri district from availing government loans for building pucca houses.

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One man’s bamboo quest breaks records

With 96 varieties harvested, farmer Prashant Date sets the record for the largest collection of bamboo in India. His garden is growing and he may venture into the commercial space soon.

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Conch seashell bangle makers losing their grip in Bengal

Worn by married Bengali women, conch shell bangles have long been part of Bengal’s tradition, but artisans are finding it difficult to keep their grip on their trade because of rising material costs.

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Black goats of Kerala’s native tribal hill people on brink of extinction

Kerala’s small but hardy Attappadi black goat is being pushed to the fringes, thanks to climate change, human interventions and the larger Malabar variety that yields more meat and milk.

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Lanterns of Bishnupur fading into darkness

The lantern industry of Bishnupur in West Bengal that once sustained hundreds of artisans is on the verge of fading out thanks to the rising cost of raw materials, never mind more affordable electricity.

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Overproduction leads to distress sale of cauliflower in Bengal

Vegetable farmers in West Bengal suffer huge losses due to a surplus of cauliflower, never mind high fertiliser and labour costs.

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Shrinking Wular Lake shrivels water chestnut harvests in Kashmir

Kashmiri women dependent on Wular Lake’s water chestnuts are finding it hard to sustain their livelihood collecting and processing the crop because of dumped waste and silt in the lake.

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Kashmir’s willow wickerwork gets a modern facelift

In the face of cheap plastic products from China, Kashmiri craftsmen meld traditional willow with modern designs to create a wide range of competitive products – vases, lamp shades, haute kitchenware and even sofas.

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Ills of eucalyptus drive Odisha tribals back to legacy crops

In southern Odisha farmers are switching from water-guzzling eucalyptus trees to diversified farming of traditional crops to boost soil fertility, crop yield, household income and dietary diversity.

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To buy supplies, millet is money in Koraput’s barter system in Odisha

Women across tribal villages store mandia or finger millets in large containers and take out small portions throughout the year for soap, oil, vegetables, dried fish, tobacco and the like

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Wakhoo: Journey from a sleepy village of timber traders to ‘Pencil Village’ of India

There’s a 90 percent chance that the pencil you’re writing with is made of slats processed in Wakhoo of south Kashmir – for it supplies more than 70% of wood to India’s pencil industry.