What is good governance? How well can a person or a community access help or push for a needed change? How often are they heard? Village Square shines a light on the people and schemes making the biggest impact or providing the most unique solutions.
Governance
Rainwater harvesting is the best way forward for irrigation
As intensive agriculture spreads across India, there is an urgent need to encourage rainwater harvesting to irrigate multiple crops instead of the current unsustainable practice of groundwater extraction
Hailstorms devastate Marathwada, Vidarbha farmers
Sudden hailstorms have extensively damaged the winter crop in Marathwada and Vidarbha, underlining the fact that the distressed farmers need more accurate weather forecasts, speedier compensation and farmer-friendly crop insurance
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
How to spread technology rapidly among the poor?
The remarkable spread of mobile phones and related telecom infrastructure throughout India holds important lessons on how to reach latest technology to the rural poor at a fast clip, and how unit costs can be optimized
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
Tur dal farmers left in the lurch due to tardy procurement
Farmers cultivating pigeon pea continue to suffer losses because of inadequate preparation on the ground for government procurement even as India aims for self-sufficiency in lentil production
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
What technology does the poor need?
Although it is true that the poor needs affordable technological solutions that meet their requirements, these solutions frequently fail to account for their aspirations and often do not offer what the user really wants
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