Maharashtra
Self-help groups – learning from the roots
While the reasons that motivate women to join self-help groups are the same, developing each group through a facilitative process instead of on a pre-conceived concept works better.
Youngsters ditch restaurants, boost roadside stalls in Matheran
Young tourists on shoestring budgets skip restaurants and eat at roadside stalls or buy fresh fruits and berries sold by people living in the valley below Matheran.
Sangli’s grape farmers are ‘raisin’ the bar
Farmers harness the suitable climate and grow certain varieties of grapes that can be dried into raisins, elevating Sangli district as India’s raisin hub.
She chose to wear mangalsutra even after her husband’s death
Tulsabai Gaikwad of Herwad village in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district talks about becoming the first woman to shun archaic customs imposed on widows – in her own words.
Maharashtra village switches off TV and mobiles to ‘detoxify’
Villagers of Mangaon in Kolhapur district are staying away from TV and phones for 90 minutes every evening so that children can study and elders can socialise without distractions.
Strawberry sweetens deal for Maharashtra farmers
The luscious strawberry is moving beyond its comfort zone of Maharashtra’s Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar region, bringing a smile to farmers in other regions of the state as well.
Celebrating Sant Janabai through Dhrupad and Bharatanatyam
A dance production brings to centre stage the life and teachings of Sant Janabai – the simple woman helped in her chores by none other than Lord Vitthala – through traditional dance and music fusion.
The Kolhapur rice tipping the scale one grain at a time
Nearly a decade after getting the recognition it deserved – bagging a GI tag in 2015 – Maharashtra’s fragrant and slender Ajara Ghansal rice is now becoming the foodie’s favourite.
Enterprising women: Stories of inspiring micro-entrepreneurs in Maharashtra
Women who run small businesses and micro-enterprises in a village in Maharashtra are entrepreneurial role models, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.
One man’s bamboo quest breaks records
With 96 varieties harvested, farmer Prashant Date sets the record for the largest collection of bamboo in India. His garden is growing and he may venture into the commercial space soon.
Money blooms in India’s ‘flower village’ of Nikamwadi in Maharashtra
Farmers have almost abandoned water-thirsty sugarcane for more colourful, and profitable, crops – marigold and chrysanthemum – which fetch them around Rs 10 lakh a year.
How pearl farms bring money to a parched village in Maharashtra
While growing a crop is extremely difficult in drought-affected Marathwada, pearl cultivation becomes an alternative and viable source of income to farmers.
Rainwater Harvesting: How a parched village catches rain to prosper
Six years ago, farmers of drought-hit Hottal migrated to the cities to earn their livelihood. But thanks to rainwater harvesting, underground aquifers are full and they’re now growing three organic crops a year.
Agri-entrepreneurship: Inspiring family story in a cup of lemongrass tea
The signature tea of the popular Saibaba Gavti Tea Centre on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway tells the story of its owner’s journey from odd-job boy to successful agri-entrepreneur.
Barge oil spill hurting beach, mangrove and livelihoods
Cyclone Tauktae bashed a barge into rocks, resulting in an oil spill that still hasn’t been cleared, hurting Mahim’s sandy beaches, unique mangrove ecology and livelihoods of fisher folk.
Fodder camps save cattle during Maharashtra drought
Providing fodder and water to cattle, government and private fodder camps in drought-affected Satara district in Maharashtra help farmers prevent distress sale of their livestock
Sinnar farmers breathe life back into irrigated farming
By collectively reviving a colonial-era irrigation system, farmers in 19 villages of Sinnar in Maharashtra have transformed a water-starved area into productive and prosperous farmlands
Maharashtra seed mother pioneers conservation of native varieties
Linking failing health to hybrid seeds, Rahibai Soma Popere of Kombhalne village in Maharashtra conserves hundreds of native varieties and encourages other farmers to grow traditional crops
Maharashtra’s tribal farmers revive traditional crops
Recognizing the significance of traditional crop varieties that can withstand climate-related vagaries and offer nutrition security, tribal farmers have started to conserve and propagate local cultivars
Farmers in Maharashtra fear loss of kharif harvest, blame Met department
Farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra are expecting a decline in crop yield during the autumn harvest and are holding the India Meteorological Department responsible for incorrect forecasting