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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Himachal’s organic farmers turn market-savvy

Collective representation helps smallholder organic farmers in Himachal’s Mandi district sell their produce directly to consumers in Delhi at a premium price, increasing their earnings

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Custard apple thrives in Maharashtra’s dryland farms

Switching from traditional crops, farmers in rain-shadow areas of Maharashtra have found that growing custard apple suited for varied soil and climatic conditions is highly remunerative

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Bamboo eliminates poverty among Wayanad villagers

Impoverished villages in Kerala’s Wayanad have found green gold in bamboo handicrafts and utility products, which have helped eliminate poverty and given them a regular source of income

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Diversified organic farming can transform Marathwada

Smallholder women farmers in the climate-threatened Marathwada region of Maharashtra are ensuring nutritional security and additional income for their families through diversified organic agriculture

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Families along Brahmaputra lose land to river erosion

Having lost homesteads and farmlands to river erosion, Assam’s farmers living in makeshift camps seek government intervention, even as state administration tries to rework a rehabilitation scheme announced in 2015

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Bengal fishermen face livelihood quandary

Bottom trawling in banned near-shore areas has been destroying marine ecosystems, affecting traditional fishermen, and forcing some to work in those very trawlers to earn a living

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Rural women place Sujini embroidery on global map

Craftswomen of Bihar have tailored Sujini, a traditional embroidery once practiced for internal use, to suit modern needs, lending it an international appeal

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Gond children learn to conserve forests

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With their forests degrading for a variety of reasons, Gond elders are rekindling interest about forest biodiversity among the younger generation, and are inspiring villagers to protect the forests

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Kachchh pastoralists struggle as grasslands shrink in Gujarat

Pastoralists from Kachchh walk great distances in search of grazing lands for their sheep in Gujarat, even as pastures disappear or become inaccessible, and climate patterns get ever more erratic