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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Rural youth turn software developers right after school

Rural youth with the right aptitude are trained and employed in a technology company in Tirunelveli. Local employment has prevented migration and improved the families’ economic status

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Handcrafted Baluchari sarees see festive resurgence

The exquisitely handcrafted Baluchari sarees of Bengal have made a welcome comeback. Once forced into menial jobs, Baluchari weavers are busy again because demand is increasing

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Kashmiri farmers struggle to sell bumper fruit harvest

Despite a good harvest of apples and pears, farmers in Kashmir are finding it difficult to sell their produce due to restrictions imposed by the authorities on transportation and communication facilities

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Native Amrit Mahal cattle need better conservation

There is an urgent need for better conservation of Amrit Mahal, a draughty, native breed of Karnataka that can toil and endure for long hours at a stretch, but have been dwindling in numbers

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Are handlooms in rural India only capable of weaving poverty?

We need to reflect why once handlooms wove joy, culture and incomes but today weave only poverty, unable to sustain livelihoods of people in our villages, except for a few outliers

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Smart water management mitigates coastal salinity

Rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge through ponds and desilting of check dams have curtailed salinity ingress in coastal Gujarat, increasing freshwater availability

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Cattle farmers revive traditional herbal remedies

Farmers in Tamil Nadu are switching to traditional remedies for cattle because ethno-veterinary medicine made with locally available herbs are more effective in controlling diseases at minimal cost

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Vasai volunteers recharge ponds to raise water table

Volunteers in the villages of Vasai-Virar have revived traditional water ponds that were originally dug for irrigation. It has resulted in recharged aquifers and increased water availability for farming

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Bengal’s weavers revive muslin, spin success

The revival of muslin, a fine cotton cloth famous for centuries, has infused financial stability into the lives of traditional spinners and weavers of West Bengal who were struggling for survival earlier