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
Stress-tolerant rice aids Uttar Pradesh farmers
With her crop surviving nearly two weeks of submergence and recovering from an intense flood, Sohabati Devi of Maharajganj has every reason to smile and be proud of her decision to plant a stress-tolerant rice variety
Educated Tamil youth boost growth with hi-tech farming
Returning to their roots, educated youth in Tamil Nadu have boosted agricultural production manifold by modernizing their ancestral land, and by using Israeli farming technology
Poshan sakhis transform reproductive health in Odisha
Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and lactating mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries
Chhattisgarh tribes taste success raising honeybees
Living a marginalized life in the mining region of Dantewada, local tribes dependent on forest produce, rain-fed agriculture and wild honey have successfully taken to modern apiculture
Traditional agricultural wisdom still relevant in Assam
Scientists are now validating the wisdom behind Dakor Boson, a bunch of rhyming verses that has offered tips to farmers in Assam and its neighbouring areas for centuries
Hilsa fishers driven to the edge by overfishing
The hilsa fishermen of Howrah district in West Bengal are struggling against declining catch, stiff competition from mechanized trawlers and non-traditional fishermen entering the lucrative occupation
Coastal farmers tackle salinity with innovative measures
Farmers in coastal Tamil Nadu are countering salinity caused by droughts and groundwater depletion through rainwater harvesting and by reviving traditional organic farming practices
Marathwada farmers harvest water in streams, reap rich yields
Farmers in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra that is prone to droughts have made agriculture remunerative by harvesting rainwater in pond-like pockets in streams, leading to groundwater recharge
Weavers of Negamam face social, economic challenges
The traditional handloom weavers of the famous Negamam cotton sarees in Tamil Nadu are dwindling in number as they battle changing social norms and economic challenges from cheaper products