Assam
Majuli mask of Assam receives GI tag
Majuli masks of Assam receive the prestigious Geographical Indicator(GI) tag for their unique cultural tradition. The craft dates back to the 15th century and is made on bamboo frames, with unique clay.
Reviving muga silk and more at Majuli island
This fashion designer quit her life and work in the metro cities to move to the Majuli island in Assam and help the local artisans revive and revamp their traditional silk weaving skills.
Assam villagers ward off elephants with draw of lots
Over 160 villages located near Manas National Park in Assam participate in an annual lottery that funds upkeep of solar-powered electric fences to keep rampaging elephants off crop fields and homes, reducing human-wildlife conflicts.
8 rural women who got the Padma Shri this year
From training elephants to healing people with herbal medicines, these heart-driven Padma Shri recipients of 2024 are raising the bar in social impact, and establishing a legacy through their contributions.
An elephant on the loom in river island Majuli
Battered by crop depredation and low farm yield, Majuli’s weavers grasp the loom of opportunity, creating not just garments but a narrative woven with threads of hope and transformation.
Guardians of the hoolock gibbons of Hollongapar
In Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam, tourist guides stand as sentinels, ensuring that the echoes of “hook hook hook-ooo” continue to resound through the ancient hollong trees, signalling a harmony between humans and nature.
Tezpur’s artistry in motion
One of Assam’s oldest handloom enterprise is a small scale family run business, employing fifteen rural women who have been weaving their magic into the traditional looms for 35 years to create unique motifs in sarees and dress materials in Tezpur.
India’s most haunted villages
From ghostly apparitions to hair-raising tales, this list reveals the country's supernatural secrets.
How Assam deals with floods every year
Annual floods in Assam bring hardship, contaminated water, disrupted education, and ruined farms. Government support falls short, leaving them vulnerable to nature's fury.
Assam rhinos in safe hands
Rhinoceros conservation is not easy in Assam, but sustained efforts from officials and the community to curb poaching have yielded successful results, making the northeastern state nothing less than a haven for the herbivore.
Women farmers go extra mile in Assam
Undeterred by lack of recognition, women farmers equip themselves with new skills to earn more by increasing productivity and growing additional crops in Darrang district of Assam.
Assam woman pickles her way to success
This micro-entrepreneur from Assam started her pickle-making business after several hurdles and now successfully runs it on solar power, selling her products online across India.
Earth Overshoot Day: A call for sustained conservation efforts
The World Overshoot Day today once again serves as a reminder that human demands on nature surpass the planet's biocapacity. The effects are for everyone to see, especially in rural areas.
Why Assam’s gaon burha governance system remains popular
The Rabha community in Assam has its own traditional governance system called gaon burha, wherein a committee of village elders solves conflicts without external intervention.
Multiple income streams sustain tribal families in Assam
From growing multiple crops on forest land they have been cultivating for ages to rearing livestock and weaving, tribal families in Assam rely on different income sources to sustain themselves.
Assam villagers dread wrath of ravaging river
Ahead of the monsoon, fear of displacement lurks amid villagers in Assam’s North Lakhimpur district as the Subansiri river threatens to devour their land and homes yet again.
The ‘queen’ of king chillies in Assam
From growing them commercially to starting a nursery, this woman farmer helps others realise the market potential of bhoot jolokia – one of the hottest chillies in the world.
Tribal woman ushers in organic farming in India’s last village
In Madhupur, a village in Assam close to the Bhutan border, an Adivasi woman’s successful switch to organic farming prompts the entire farming community to follow suit.
Tai Phake couple serves Assam tribe’s history on a plate
The Tai Phake is a community of around 2,000 people who are trying to preserve their identity and heritage with various efforts, serving their unique cuisine is part of that push.
Assam’s wildest jungle safari
Nature lives in its full glory in Dehing Patkai, but illegal logging and coal mining are pushing the virgin jungle to the brink.