rural income
Blacksmiths show an iron will in this MP village
Faced with dwindling sales, blacksmiths in Kala Dumar village of Jabalpur are looking at giving a contemporary touch to their products to get good prices and also engage their future generation in the skill-based ancestral practice.
Mangoes bring sweet returns in Jharkhand
From barren fields to flourishing mango orchards, Rajkumar Yadav's journey showcases the transformative impact of Birsa Harit Gram Yojna on rural livelihoods in Jharkhand.
Rural entrepreneur empowers other women in UP
Tasting success and financial freedom through her small ventures, a woman encourages the others towards self-reliance which changes the gender and power equations in her village.
Shielding trout from climate change in Kashmir
Fish farmers combat autumn dry spell with a groundwater harvesting technique that ensures a continuous, round-the-year flow of fresh, cold water vital for their trout.
Jharkhand woman turns entrepreneur making bamboo handicrafts
Enthused after learning to make bamboo handicrafts, Mira Devi, an enterprising homemaker, harnesses her skills to achieve entrepreneurial success and trains others towards financial self-sufficiency.
All that glitters in Antia village is indeed gold
The centuries-old use of golden grass in making crafts is financially empowering the women of Jajpur in Odisha. A GI tag and aggressive marketing can improve things further.
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.
Food truck provides a bright spot to Himachal’s rural women
Purusharth Jamwal, a marine engineering graduate and entrepreneur, helps makers of artisanal food products who have limited access to markets and whose businesses were hit hard by the Covid pandemic.
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.
The state of cattle bell makers of Jharkhand
For years people have been tying bells around the neck of their cattle. Along with beauty, it makes finding cattle in the forests easy. Cattle bells were once a symbol of prosperous rural life, but the use of machines, and dwindling cattle numbers, have reduced the tinkling of the bells.
Die cast for vanishing cowbells of Jharkhand
Blacksmiths practising the ancient art form of making cowbells are struggling to make ends meet as sales have dipped, with rural folks keeping fewer cattle now.
Shrinking Wular Lake shrivels water chestnut harvests in Kashmir
Kashmiri women dependent on Wular Lake’s water chestnuts are finding it hard to sustain their livelihood collecting and processing the crop because of dumped waste and silt in the lake.
Shark Tank 2022 tows the rural India line
We all know the hit TV show Shark Tank features the best and bravest of the tough start-up world, but this season showcased a handful of exciting entrepreneurs fully rooted in making an impact in rural India.
Women adopt organic farming to transform a Karnataka village
The old adage – empower a woman and it will transform not just her and her family but the entire community – is coming true once again as more women take to organic farming in Handanakere of Tumkur district in Karnataka.
How millet magic is empowering women in rural Odisha
Loaded with nutritional benefits and climate resistant properties, finger millet can be a life-transforming crop – especially if mini-millet flour mills, making the processing easier.
J&K: Gujjar women’s embroidered skullcaps lose out to modern fashion
Colourfully embroidered skullcaps are the cultural identity of the Gujjar women of Kashmir. With the younger generation not keen on wearing the caps, the women fear losing their tradition.
India’s rural youth show high interest in entrepreneurship, finds survey
While nine out of 10 rural businesses in India are first-generation enterprises, an increasing number of young men and women in rural India want to own businesses, finds a survey.
Can farmers farm for prosperity?
Those who intervene for farmers’ welfare seem to prefer maintaining the poor-farmer image than ensuring financial success. The first of a four-part series explores this aspect
India needs poverty fighters to boost rural incomes
Ending endemic economic poverty in the central and eastern parts of rural India needs more numbers of trained foot soldiers to deal with the complex realities on the ground