Livelihoods

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.

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Big money in small mustards

Around 3,000 farmers and migrant returnees in Majuli – Assam’s flood-ravaged and eroding river island – reap rewards from growing climate resilient mustard.

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Appetite for organic dairy spurs cottage industry

The growing demand for organic, homemade dairy products gives a boost to Kashmiri villagers who once tried to make ends meet by selling unprocessed milk. Now business is booming for curd, butter and paneer.

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Protesting farmers won’t back down

Despite a victory, protesting farmers show no sign of ending their demonstration on the roads outside Delhi, with thousands heading into the capital to mark the first-year anniversary of their protest.

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Women bet big on rearing rabbits

Rearing rabbits is becoming one of the most lucrative and profitable businesses for women in Nagaland thanks to the huge demand for rabbit meat and low farming costs.

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Looking for gold

The gold they pan for does not bring lustre to their lives. Yet, with work hard to come by and limited water for agriculture, villagers keep looking for gold.

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Early snowfall destroys apple orchards

Untimely snowfall causes extensive damage to apple orchards in southern Kashmir.

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Solar “pumps” up incomes

How can farmers produce the food we eat without stable electricity for irrigation? By switching to solar-powered pumps, farmers become self-reliant and fruitful.

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Lawyer-turned-farmer advocates for forest farming

Would you quit your professional job to be an organic farmer for the sake of healthier food? That’s what this Tamil farmer did – converting other farmers to his methods to boot.

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Ingenious farmers breed new fruit varieties

Ever wished you could have mangoes year round, custard apples with fewer seeds or jumbo grapes? Now you can, thanks to some innovative, self-taught famers.