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
Mising weavers intertwine technology with traditional skills
Living in flood-prone areas of Assam with no alternate sustenance options, women of Mising tribal community have upgraded their traditional handloom weaving skills, and have adapted to market needs for a lucrative livelihood
Forest food ensures nutritional security of Odisha’s tribes
Access to naturally grown forest produce would go a long way in protecting tribal communities in Odisha from the worst impacts of climate change and supply them with all that they need for sustenance
Assam youth are netting healthy incomes from fish seeds
Taking advantage of the plentiful water bodies in Assam, the production and supply of fertilized fish eggs has emerged as a promising and sustainable livelihood for unemployed youth in rural Assam
Better nurture needed for new producers’ organizations
Development professionals managing newly formed farmer producers’ organizations, while high on technical and social skills, have to be more market and management savvy to strengthen these nascent entities
Rural women start bank for economic transformation
Started by women in Chhattisgarh villages from their personal savings, the Sakhi Mahila Bank has not only boosted rural women’s income but also their confidence and economic independence
Anita Devi of Anantpur works magic with mushrooms
From an impoverished village woman to mushroom farmer and successful entrepreneur, Anita Devi has inspired hundreds of women in Nalanda to adopt the profitable venture of mushroom cultivation
Widowed by silicosis, women of Odisha village await justice
Young men, who joined a pyrophillite grinding factory dreaming of a better future, succumbed to silicosis, leaving families struggling for survival and justice
Farmers are making Kashmir a land of honey
Farmers growing fruits and vegetables in Kashmir are doubling as beekeepers to boost their incomes, taking advantage of vast tracts of horticultural land with their abundance of flowers
Youth trade guns for bananas in Assam
Assamese rural youth who once worked with insurgent outfits are giving up their gun-fueled violent ways and taking to banana cultivation for a peaceful and dignified livelihood