Rural India is home of the original gig-economy worker. Enterprising villagers hop from tilling fields to tending shops, to door-to-door selling each day. Read the latest trends in micro-enterprises, rural start-ups and the shifting livelihoods of India’s villagers.
Livelihoods
Bay leaf brings aroma to lives in Bengal
The bay leaf that adds flavour to many a dish is an attractive source of livelihood for thousands of villagers in northern Bengal.
Machine eases work, empowers Andhra women labourers
In Srikakulam, zero tillage in maize crop sowing through the double wheel marker reduces workload for women.
Shingve – the carrot village of Maharashtra
Tired of waiting for years to be paid by sugar mills, farmers of Shingve village switched from water-intensive sugarcane to drip-irrigated carrot, earning Shingve the name ‘carrot village’.
What do Kadaknath chicken & betel nut have in common?
Several hundreds of women are earning lucrative livelihoods in border areas of Bengal adjoining Nepal border with kadaknath chicken and betel nuts farming.
Kashmir’s farmers switch from growing apples to exotic greens
Fruit cultivation is a mainstay of Kashmir’s economy, but many farmers are clearing orchards and shifting to integrated farming to grow exotic vegetables.
Youngsters ditch restaurants, boost roadside stalls in Matheran
Young tourists on shoestring budgets skip restaurants and eat at roadside stalls or buy fresh fruits and berries sold by people living in the valley below Matheran.
Turning fallow land fertile, Chhattisgarh women reap rich harvest
Women of Biladi grow fruits and vegetables on land they had collectively leased from panchayat to earn a decent living in a region that was historically arid.
Dying Siali craft keeps Mankidia tribe on the edge
The tribe was displaced from the Similipal forest when it became a national park, which reduced access to the Siali creeper they weave into ropes and baskets.
Solan mushroom farmers make it big with fungi
A mushroom revolution took place in Himachal Pradesh about 30 years ago as farmers looked for high returns from a limited space. The result is mind-blowing.